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GIFT  OF 


GIFT 
HIM  1O   1914 


REPORT  OF  THE 


fry 


Social  Survey  Committee 


OF  THE 


Consumers9  League  of  Oregon 


ON  THE 


Wages,  Hours  and  Conditions  of  Work  and  Cost  and  Standard  of 

Living  of  Women  Wage  Earners  in  Oregon  with 

Special  Reference  to  Portland 


PORTLAND,  OREGON 

January,  1913 


REPORT  OF  THE 


Social  Survey  Committee 


OF  THE 

Consumers'  League  of  Oregon 

ON  THE 

Wages,  Hours  and  Conditions  of  Work  and  Cost  and  Standard  of 

Living  of  Women  Wage  Earners  in  Oregon  with 

Special  Reference  to  Portland 


PORTIAND,  ORtGON 
January,  1913 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


SOCIAL  SURVEY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
CONSUMERS'  LEAGUE  OF  OREGON 

Rev.  Edwin  V.  O'Hara,  Chairman. 

Mrs.  Millie  R.  Trumbull,  Secretary. 

Miss  Mabel  Weidler,  Treasurer. 

W.   B.  Ayer. 

A.  E.  Wood 

C.  F.  Caufield 

Dr.  C.  H.  Chapman 

Miss  Lucia  B.  Harriman 

Mrs.   H.   R.  Talbot,   President  Consumers'   League. 

Legal  Advisors 

John  M.  Gearin.  D.  Solis  Cohen 

Director  of  Survey. 

Miss  Caroline  J.  Gleason. 


OFFICERS  AND  DIRECTORS  OF  THE 

CONSUMERS'  LEAGUE 

OF  OREGON 

President 

Mrs.   Henry  Russell  Talbot. 

Vice-Presidents 

First  Vice-  President    Mrs.   Millie  R.  Trumbull 

Second  Vice-President  Mrs.  Elmer  Colwell 

Third  Vice-President Mrs.  B.  M.  Lombard 

Honorary  Vice-Presidents. 

Mr.  D.  Solis  Cohen  .    •  Mrs.    James    Laidlaw 

Mrs.  H.-W.. Corbet^/  ;  •/'*  :.    1.          Mr.  Marshall  N.  Dana 
Mrs.  T.  £;  Eliot    '.:*'  .  • .     Dr.  A.  A.  Morrison 

Dr.  C.  H.  Chapman.;*/.  :     ;  ;;.  mj  Rev.  H.  J.  McDevitt 
Dr.  wiHiJuft"  Jv5s"ter      *••••'  Mrs.  R.   B.  Wilson 

Mr.  Arthur  Wood 

Corresponding  Secretary   Miss  K.  L.  Trevett 

Treasurer   Miss  Cora  Pattee 

Recording  Secretary Mrs.  William  P.  Gannett 

Directors 

Mrs.  W.  B.  Ayer  Miss  Caroline  J.  Gleason 

Mrs.  Chas.  Basey  Mrs.  Thos.  Scott  Brooke 

Mrs.  Frank  J.  Durham  Mrs.  Elsie  Wallace  Moore 

Mrs.  William  Warrens 


Social  Welfare  Snnvv 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

Page 

Social    Survey    Committee 2 

Officers  of  the  Consumers'  League 2 

Table  of  Contents 3 

Statistical  Tables 4 

Report   of  Survey   Committee 5 

Opinion    of    the    Attorney-General        .        . 7 

Minimum   Wage    Legislation    Elsewhere  10 

Draft  of  the  Proposed  Bill 13 

Report  of  the  Director  of  the  Survey        ......         18-72 

Introduction 18 

Wages,    Hours    and    Unemployment 25-45 

Retail  Stores 25 

Five    and   Ten    Cent    Stores 29 

Factories 31 

Laundries 35 

Office  Help  36 

Moving  Picture  Show  Cashiers  39 

Printing  Trades          .        .        .    ' 39 

Telephone  Operators 41 

Hotels  and  Restaurants  .42 

Hairdressers,  Dressmakers 44 

Milliners;  Cleaning  and  Dyeing  .        .        .        .        .45 

Conditions  of  Labor  .        .        .        ...        .        .        .        46-57 

Light  and  Ventilation 46 

Too  Great  Heat  in  Laundries       .        .        .        .        .        .47 

Nauseating  and  Other  Odors 48 

Poor  Arrangement  in  Work  Rooms      .        .        .        .        .50 

Lack  of  Sanitary  Plumbing 52 

Noise   from   Machinery  53 

Nervous  Strain  in  Telephone  System          .        .        .        .55 
Conclusion  56 

Cost  of  Living 57-67 

Room-rent  57 

Rooms  and  Board       ....  .        :        .        .     60 

Carfare 61 

Clothing 62 

Laundry .        .        .64 

Doctor  and  Dentist  Bills 65 

Lodge  and  Church  Dues          . 66 

Recreation  and  Vacation 66 

Education  and  Reading  . 67 

Summary  .        .        . 67 

Personal  Stories       .        .        .        . 68 

Appendix — Welfare  Legislation 73 

285685 


4.'!.;  ,a!   Welfare  Survey. 


LIST   OF   TABLES 


1 — Occupational    Distribution    of    Workers    in    Portland. 

2 — Summary  of  Cost  of  Living  in  Portland. 

3 — Summary   of    Cost   of   Living    Outside   of   Portland. 

A — Summary    of    Wages    in    Portland. 

5 — Wage     Information     Outside    of    Portland. 

6 — Department  Stores;    Number  and  Percent,  Wage  Schedules. 

7 — Department    Stores ;    Cumulative    Number   and    Percent. 

8— 5c,    lOc    &    15c   Stores;    Wages. 

9 — Factory;    Number   and   Percent   Wage    Schedules. 
10 — Factory;    Cumulative    Number    and    Percent. 
11 — Factories   in   Portland    Reporting  Wage   Schedules. 
12 — Laundry;    Markers,   Starch   Room,   etc. 
13 — Laundry;    Number,    Percent,    Wage. 
14 — Laundry;    Cumulative    Number,    Percent. 
15 — Office   Help;    Number,    Percent,   Wage. 
16 — Office    Help;    Cumulative    Number. 
17 — Stenographer;     Number,    Percent,    Wage. 
18 — Stenographer;     Cumulative    Number,    Percent. 
19 — Printing  Trades;    Number,    Percent,   Wage. 
20 — Printing   Trades ;    Cumulative    Number   and    Percent. 
21 — Telephone    Operators;    Number,    Percent. 
22 — Telephone    Operators ;     Cumulative    Number,    Percent. 
23 — Hotels    and    Restaurants;    Number,    Percent,    Wage. 
24 — Hotels,    Restaurants  ;    Cumulative  Number. 
25 — Miscellaneous;    Wage    Schedules. 

26 — List  of  105  Rooms  for  Rent  in  Portland.    A,   B,  and  C. 
27 — Classified   Cost   of   Living;   Average   Spent  on   Room   and   Board. 
28 — Average   Annual    Sum    Spent   on    Clothing. 
29 — Estimated   Cost  of   Clothing   at   Low  Market   Prices. 
30 — Estimated  Cost  of  Clothing,   Serviceable. 
31 — Average   Annual    Sum    Spent   on   Laundry. 
32 — Average  Annual  Sum  Spent  on  Doctors'  and   Dentists'   Bills. 
33 — Average  Annual    Sum    Spent   on   Carfare. 
34 — Average  Annual   Sum   Spent  on    Church   and   Lodge   Dues. 
35 — Average  Annual   Sum   Spent  on  Education  and   Reading. 

36 — Average  Annual  Sum  Spent  on   Recreation  and  Vacation. 

37 — Summary  of  Cost  of   Decent   Living  for   One   Year. 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


REPORT  OF  SURVEY  COMMITTEE 


To  the  Officers  and  Directors  of  the  Consumers'  League  of 
Oregon  : 

The  Social  Survey  Committee  of  the  Consumers'  League 
herewith  respectfully  submits  its  report  on  Welfare  Legisla- 
tion for  Women  and  Minors  in  Oregon.  Your  Committee  be- 
gan its  investigation  for  this  Report  early  in  August  1912. 
The  generosity  of  a  number  of  public-spirited  citizens  made 
it  possible  to  engage  a  trained  investigator  to  take  charge  of 
the  inquiry  into  the  wages,  hours,  conditions  of  labor  and 
standards  of  living  of  women  wage-earners  in  various  indus- 
tries of  the  State  with  special  reference  to  Portland.  Miss  Caro- 
line J.  Gleason  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  was  made  Director  of  the 
Survey  and  it  is  due  to  her  special  knowledge  of  the  condi- 
tions of  women  wage-earners  as  well  as  to  her  tireless  energy 
that  the  Committee  is  able  to  present  a  statistical  report  on 
so  large  a  percentage  of  the  women  workers  in  various  in- 
dustries with  only  five  months  for  the  task  of  organizing,  in- 
vestigating, collating,  tabulating  and  publishing. 

In  Portland,  the  investigators  have  gathered  informa- 
tion affecting  the  wages,  'hours  or  conditions  of  labor  of  7,603 
women  wage-earners.  Wage  statistics  are  tabulated  for  4,523 
of  this  number.  In  the  case  of  the  Department  Stores  the 
pay-rolls  were  placed  at  our  disposal,  and  hence  the  wage 
statistics  are  exhaustive  ;  but  in  other  cases  where  the  wage- 
schedules  had  to  be  obtained  from  individual  employes,  it  was 
felt  that  the  wage  conditions  in  an  establishment  could  be 
sufficiently  guaged  from  the  reports  of  a  reasonably  large 
percentage  of  the  employes  without  seeking  to  get  the  sched- 
ule of  every  employe. 

Outside  of  Portland  wage  statistics  were  gathered  for 
1,133  women  wage-earners.  The  Director  of  the  Survey  vis- 
ited most  of  the  larger  centers  throughout  the  State  and  en- 
listed the  generous  co-operation  of  committees  in  twenty-five 
counties  of  the  State.  All  over  the  State  there  was  mani- 
fested the  keenest  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Consumers' 
League  for  this  measure  for  the  welfare  of  women  workers. 

In  drafting  the  Bill  for  an  Industrial  Welfare  Commis- 
sion, your  Committee  has  had  the  advantage  of  the  experience 
of  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts  and  of  the  legal  advice  of  ex- 
Senator  John  M.  Gearin  and  Mr.  D.  Solis  Cohen,  who  have 
given  unsparingly  of  their  time.  The  constitutionality  of  the 
measure  has  been  carefully  examined  by  the  Attorney-General 
of  Oregon,  whose  opinion  is  given  herewith. 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Social  workers  from  Washington  and  California  have 
investigated  the  Bill  aird  have  arranged  to  have  it  intro- 
duced at  the  coming  session  of  the  Legislatures  of  those 
States.  The  passage  of  the  same  measure  by  the  three  coast 
states  would  be  a  very  progressive  step  in  social  welfare 
legislation.  The  argument  for  Welfare  Legislation  for  Wom- 
en and  Minors  is  presented  in  the  address  of  the  Chairman 
of  this  Committee  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Consumers1 
League  and  published  as  an  appendix  of  this  report  (also 
printed  separately). 

Principles  and  Facts. 

The  outstanding  principles  and  facts  which  form  the 
basis  of  the  demand  for  the  proposed  legislation  are  the  fol- 
lowing: 

(1)  Each  industry  should  provide  for  the  livelihood  of 
the  workers  employed  in  it.     An  industry  which  does  not  do 
so  is  parasitic.    The  well-being  of  society  demands  that  wage- 
earning  women  shall  not  be  required  to  subsidize  from  their 
earnings  the  industry  in  which  they  are  employed. 

(2)  Owing  to  the   lack  of  organization   among  women 
workers   and    the    secrecy   with    which    their   wage    schedules 
are  guarded,  there  are  absolutely  no  standards  of  wages  among 
them.     Their  wages  are  determined  for  the  mc^st  part  by  the 
will  of  the  employer  without  reference  to  efficiency  or  length 
of  service  on  the  part  of  the  worker.     This  condition  is  radi- 
cally unjust. 

(3)  The   wages  paid  to  women   workers   in  most  occu- 
pations are  miserably  inadequate  to  meet  the  cost  of  living 
at  the  lowest  standards  consistent   with  the   maintenance  of 
the  health  and  morals  of  the  workers.  Nearly  three-fifths  of  the 
women  employed  in  industries  in  Portland  receive  less  than 
$10  a  week,  which  is  the  minimum  weekly  wage  that  ought 
to  be  offered  to  any  self-supporting  woman   wage-earner  in 
this  city. 

(4)  The  present  conditions  of  labor  for  women  in  many 
industries  are  shown  by  this  report  to  be  gravely  detrimental 
to  their  health;  and  since  most  women  wagejearners  are  po- 
tential mothers,  the  future  health  of  the  race  is  menaced  by 
these  unsanitary  conditions. 

For  these  reasons  vour  Committee  believes  that  the  pas- 
sage of  the  proposed  Bill  for  an  Act  creating  an  Industrial 
Welfare  Commission  is  most  important  and  we  strongly  re- 
commend that  the  Consumers'  League  urgently  petition  the 
Legislature  for  its  enactment. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

SOCIAL  SURVEY  COMMITTEE. 

Mrs.  Millie  R.  Trumbull,  Edwin  V.  O'Hara, 

Secretary.  Chairman 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


OPINION  OF  ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 


SALEM,  Ore.,  December  23rd,  1912. 

Chairman   Social   Survey  Committee,   Consumers'   League  of 
Oregon : 

DEAR  SIR:— 

I  have  your  favor  of  the  19th  instant,  and  under  sep- 
arate cover,  dratft  of  a  proposed  Industrial  Welface  Com- 
mission bill,  and  complying  with  your  request,  I  beg  to 
say  that  I  have  examined  the  proposed  bill  with  ref- 
erence to  ascertaining  so  far  as  I  can,  whether,  if  said  bill 
were  enacted,  it  would  be  subject  to  the  objection  that  it  is 
unconstitutional  in  any  respect,  and  after  such  examination, 
together  with  the  authorities  which  I  have  been  able  to  find 
bearing  upon  the  subject,  am  of  opinion  that  it  is  entirely  with- 
in the  authority  of  the  legislative  department  of  the  State  of 
Oregon  to  enact.  There  are  only  two  points  which  occur  to 
me  which  might  be  raised  in  objection  to  the  validity  of  the 
bill  on  constitutional  grounds,  and  they  are,  first:  As  to 
whether  it  comes  within  the  police  power  of  the  State,  and 
second :  Whether  it  is  a  delegation  of  legislative  authority. 

A  question  vevy  similar  to  this  arose  upon  the  passage  of 
the  law  limiting  the  hours  of  women  workers  to  ten  hours 
per  day.  and  sixty  hours  per  week,  and  in  the  case  of  State 
against  Muller,  48  Ore.  252,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Oregon 
sustained  that  statute  as  a  valid  exercise  of  the  police  power 
and  as  not  unduly  interfering  with  the  right  of  women  sui 
juris,  to  contract,  which  decision  was  sustained  by  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  where  the  case  was  taken  on  writ  of 
error,  which  decision  is  found  in  208  U.  S.,  419. 

In  the  case  of  Mutual  Loan  Company  against  Martell,  32 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court  Reporter,  74,  involving  the  validity  of 
a  statute  of  Massachusetts  which  makes  invalid  against  the 
emplover,  assignments  of,  or  orders  for  wages  to  be  earned  in 
the  future,  unless  recorded,  accepted  in  writing  by  fhe  em- 
ployer and  accompanied  by  the  written  consent  of  the  wife  of 
the  emplovee.  the  Court  sustained  said  statute  as  a  valid 
exercise  of  police  power,  and  on  pas^e  75  discusses  the  question 
of  what  the  police  power  of  the  State  is,  and  the  extent  of  its 
authoritv.  at  considerable  length,  and  closes  this  branch  of 
the  case  in  the  following  language  : 

"There  must,  indeed,  be  a  certain  freedom  of  con- 
tract, and,  as  there  cannot  be  a  precise,  verbal  ex- 
pression of  the  limitations  of  it,  arguments  against 
anv  particular  limitation  mav  have  plausible  strength, 
and  vet  many  legal  restrictions  have  been  and  must 
be  put  upon  such  freedom  in  adapting  human  laws  to 


8  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

human  conduct  and  necessities.  A  too  precise  reason- 
ing should  not  be  exercised,  and  before  this  court  may 
interfere  there  must  be  a  clear  case  of  abuse  of  power. 
See  Chicago,  B.  &  Q.  R.  Co.  v.  McGuire,  219  U.  S. 
549,  55  L.  ed.  328,  31  Sup.  Ct.  Rep.  259,  where  the 
rig^ht  of  contract  and  its  limitation  by  the  legislature 
are  fully  discussed." 

In  the  case  of  Noble  State  Bank  against  Haskell  and  others, 
219  U.  S.  104,  31  Supreme  Court 'Reporter,  186,  the  Court 
discussing  what  is  a  State's  police  power,  uses  this  language  : 

"At  least,  if  we  have  a  case  within  the  reasonable 
exercise  of  the  police  power  as  above  explained,  no 
more  need  be  said. 

It   may  be   said   in   a   general    way   that   the    police 
power  extends  to  all   the  great  public   needs.     Cam- 
field  v.  United  States,  167  U.  S.  518,  42  L.  ed.  260,  17 
Sup.  Ct.  Rep.  864.    It  may  be  put  forth  in  aid  of  what 
is  sanctioned  by  usage,  or  held  by  the  prevailing  mor- 
ality or  strong  and  preponderant  opinion  to  be  greatly 
and  immediately  necessary  to  the  public  welfare." 
To  the  same  effect  are  the  decisions  of  the  United  States 
Supreme   Court   in   the   case   of   Laurelhill   Cemetery   against 
San  Francisco,  216  U.  S.  358,  Welch  against  Swasey,  214  U. 
S.  91,  Jacobson  against  Massachusetts,  197  U.  S.  11,  and  the 
dissenting  opinion  in  Loc'hner  against  New  York,  198  U.  S. 
45,   as   well   as   the   principles   laid   down   in   the   controlling 
opinion  in  that  case,  although  the  decision  was  that  the  prin- 
ciples did  not  apply  to  the  conditions  then  at  issue. 

If  the  police  power  extends  to  all  the  great  public  needs, 
as  held  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  the  cases  above 
cited,  and  it  must  be  conceded  that  sufficient  earnings  to 
procure  a  reasonable  and  comfortable  existence,  together  wit'h 
some  opportunity  for  rest  and  recreation,  and  sanitary,  health- 
ful and  moral  conditions  under  which  to  labor,  on  behalf  of 
women  and  minors,  are  some  of  the  prime  and  greatest  needs 
of  the  public,  then  this  proposed  bill  is  certainly  well  within 
the  police  power  of  the  State,  and  as  said  in  Bank  against 
Haskell,  Supra.,  if  we  have  a  case  within  the  reasonable  ex- 
ercise of  the  police  power,  as  above  explained,  no  more  need 
be  said. 

Upon  the  other  point,  as  to  whether  the  appointment  of  a 
commission,  and  through  it  of  wage  boards,  or  conferences, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  and  fixing  what  are  reasonable 
and  necessary  minimum  wages,  maximum  hours  of  labor,  and 
standard  conditions  for  and  under  which  women  and  children 
may  be  allowed  to  work,  I  find  it  established  by  a  multitude 
of  authorities,  that  while  a  legislature  cannot  delegate  its 
authority  to  make  laws,  to  any  other  body  or  authority,  but 
having  enacted  the  law,  may  delegate  to  another  body  or 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


authority,  power  to  determine  facts  upon  which  such  law 
shall  operate. 

State  against  Thompson,  160  Missouri,  333,  sustaining  an 
act  authorizing  the  State  Auditor  to  exercise  his  judgment  as 
to  the  good  repute  of  an  applicant  for  a  license  for  book  mak- 
ing on  horse  raices ;  Lothrop  against  Stedman,  42  Connecticut, 
583,  sustaining  an  act  providing  for  the  repeal  of  a  charter  of 
an  insurance  company  if  a  certain  event  did  not  occur,  and 
appointing  a  commissioner  to  determine  whether  it  occurred. 

In  re  Locke's  Appeal,  72  Pennsylvania  State,  498,  the  Court 
says : 

"What  is  more  than  common  to  appoint  commis- 
sioners under  a  law  to  determine  things,  upon  the 
decision  of  which  the  act  is  to  operate  in  some  way 
or  another." 

and  lays  down  the  rule  that  while  the  legislature  cannot  dele- 
gate its  power  to  make  a  law,  it  can  make  a  law  delegating 
its  power  to  determine  some  fact  or  state  of  things,  upon 
which  the  law  makes,  or  intends  to  make  its  own  action  de- 
pend. 

It  is  now  well  settled,  that  while  the  establishing  of  railroad 
rates  is  a  legislative  function,  the  determination  as  to  what 
are  reasonable  rates  and  fixing  the  same,  may  be  delegated  to 
Railroad  Commissions  and  other  bodies  authorized  to  deter- 
mine facts. 

Railroad  Commission  against  Yazoo  &  Mississippi 
Valley  R.  R.  Co.,  62  Miss.  607; 

Stone  against  Farmers'  Loan  &  Trust  Co.,  116  U. 
S.  307; 

Regan  against  Farmers'  Loan  &  Trust  Co.,  154  U. 
S.  362; 

C.  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.,  against  Jones,  149  111.,  378; 
Beale  &  Wyman  R.  R.  rate  regulation,  section  1309; 
8Cyc.,  834; 

Without  citing  as  many  more  authorities  to  the  same 
effect  which  I  have  consulted  on  this  subject. 
Therefore  in  my  opinion  the  act  proposed  is  valid  so  far 
as  a  conflict  with 'the  constitution.  State  or  National^  is  con- 
cerned, and  I  am  further  impressed  with  the  great  merit  of  the 
object  sought  to  be  obtained  by  this  proposed  law.  If  our 
free  institutions  are  to  be  maintained,  it  is  of  vital  importance 
to  protect  our  citizens,  especially  those  in  greatest  need  of 
such  protection,  by  furnishing  adequate  means  of  livlihood, 
as  well  as  safe  and  sanitary  conditions  under  which  employ- 
ment may  be  pursued. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

A,  M.  CRAWFORD, 
IHV-D  Attorney  General. 


10  Social  Welfare  Survey. 


MINIMUM  WAGE  LEGISLATION  ELSEWHERE. 


As  to  the  operation  elsewhere  of  Minimum  Wage  legisla- 
tion, we  quote  here  from  the  report  of  the  Commission  on 
Minimum  Wage  Boards  of  the  Commonwealth  oi  Massachu- 
setts (1912)  : 

"Such  a  system  of  (Minimum  Wage)  legislation  has  been 
in  operation  in  the  State  of  Victoria,  Australia,  since  1896,  and 
in  Great  Britain  since  January,  1910.  Some  form  of  fixing 
legal  minimum  wages  is  also  in  operation  in  the  other  Aus- 
tralian states  and  New  Zealand.  In  Victoria  and  England  the 
minimum  wages  are  determined  by  wage  boards  created  for 
considering  the  special  requirements  of  the  respective  indus- 
tries or  trades. 

The  Victorian  System. 

"In  Victoria,  at  the  instance  of  either  employers  or  em- 
ployees, or  of  the  minister  of  labor,  the  legislature  may  author- 
ize the  creation  of  a  special  board,  which  is  empowered  to  fix 
a  minimum  wage  for  a  given  trade.  Employers  and  employees 
are  equally  represented  upon  such  a  board,  and  a  non-partisan 
chairman  is  selected  by  the  two  parties  at  interest,  or,  if  they 
fail  to  agree,  is  then  appointed  by  the  minister  of  labor.  The 
chairman  has  a  casting  vote.  Determinations,  as  the  decisions 
of  the  special  boards  are  called,  if  accepted  by  the  minister  of 
labor,  are  published  in  the  Government  Gazette  and  become 
law  for  that  trade;  'but  if  the  minister  of  labor  considers  that 
a  determination  may  cause  injury  to  the  trade,  he  may  sus- 
pend it  for  a  period  of  six  months,  and  then  send  it  back  to  the 
board  for  reconsideration.  There  is  also  the  court  of  industrial 
appeals,  to  which  determinations  may  be  referred,  and  this 
court  has  the  power  to  amend  or  annul  a  determination.  The 
decision  of  the  court  is  final,  but  it  may  review  its  own  de- 
cisions. Moreover,  the  court  of  appeals  is  specifically  instruct- 
ed to  consider  whether  a  determination  has  been  or  may  be 
injurious  to  a  trade,  or  may  limit  employment,  'and  if  of  opin- 
ion that  it  has  had  or  may  have  such  effect,  the  court  shall 
make  such  alterations  as  in  its  opinion  may  be  necessary  to 
remove  or  prevent  such  effect,  and  at  the  same  time  to  secure 
a  living  wage  to  employees.'  (Factory  and  Shops  Acts,  1905, 
No.  1975).  The  law  ignores  the  possibility  of  cases  in  which 
the  maintenance  of  the  trade  and  payment  of  a  living  wage  to 
the  employees  may  be  incompatible.  These  special  boards, 
although  authorized  to  secure  a  'living  wage'  in  practice  have 
served  rather  to  formulate  common  rules  for  a  trade,  to  bring 
employees  and  employers  into  co-operative  relations  and  to 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  11 

provide  suitable  machinery  for  the  readjustment  of  wages  and 
other  matters  to  changing  economic  conditions.  Their  flexi- 
bility in  dealing  with  complex  situations  is  obvious.  Few  ap- 
peals have  been  taken  from  their  decisions  to  the  court  of  in- 
dustrial appeals.  The  claim  that  the  system  is  not  considered 
antagonistic  by  propertied  interests  is  borne  out  by  a  great 
weight  of  testimony.  On  this  point  Victor  Clark,  who  visited 
Victoria  in  1903  and  1904  as  a  representative  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Labor,  states,  'Propertied  interests  were 
not  opposed  to  a  statutory  minimum  wage.  .  .  The  better 
employers  rather  courted  some  provision  that  freed  them  from 
the  competition  of  the  less  scrupulous  men  of  their  own  class.' 
(Labor  in  Australia,  pp.  141,  147.)  He  states  further  that  11 
of  the  38  special  boards  then  in  operation  were  established 
upon  application  of  employers. 

"In  1910,  20  new  boards  were  instituted,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  year  91  industries  were  under  the  operation  of  the  act, 
affecting  5,362  factories,  in  which  83,053  workers  were  em- 
ployed. 

The  English  System. 

"In  England,  the  industries  in  which  the  system  may  be 
applied  are  named  by  Parliament,  but  the  Board  of  Trade  may 
provisionally  extend  the  application  of  the  act  to  other  indus- 
tries, subject  to  subsequent  continuation  by  Parliament.  The 
wage  boards,  known  as  trade  boards,,  are  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  employers  and  of  workers  in  equal  numbers, 
elected  by  the  respective  organizations,  and  of  other  members, 
including  the  chairman,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trade.  The 
determinations  of  these  trade  boards  are  made  obligatory  by 
an  order  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  but  the  Board  of  Trade  may 
suspend  the  operation  of  the  order.  If  the  order  is  suspended 
the  trade  may  after  six  months  again  renew  its  recommenda- 
tion, and  the  Board  of  Trade  may  then  issue  an  obligatory 
order  or  further  suspend  it.  Minimum  wage  orders  determined 
in  this  manner  apply  to  both  men  and  women,  and  they  may 
apply  universally  to  the  trades  or  apply  to  any  special  process 
in  the  work  of  the  trade,  or  to  any  special  class  of  workers  in 
the  trade,  or  to  any  special  area.  The  act  (9,  Edward  VII, 
chap.  22),  went  into  effect  Jan.  1.  1910,  and  applied  immediate- 
ly to  the  trades  of  wholesale  tailoring,  box-making,  lace-mak- 
ing and  chain-making.  The  act  has  not  been  in  operation  long 
enough  to  judge  of  its  ultimate  success,  but  it  was  adopted  after 
mature  consideration  by  a  select  committee,  whose  laborious 
investigations  included  a  field  study  by  Ernest  Aves,  com- 
missioner of  the  home  office,  into  the  workings  of  minimum 
wage  regulations,  both  in  Australia  and  in  New  Zealand.  In 
the  passage  of  the  bill  through  Parliament  it  was  not  made 
a  party  or  a  class  measure,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  met 


12  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

with  any  particular  opposition  from  any  quarter.  In  one  in- 
dustry, at  least,  it  has  'been  gladly  accepted  by  employers, 
who  even  contributed  money  to  enable  their  employees  to 
organize  for  the  purpose  of  taking  advantage  of  the  act/' 

After  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  needs  of  the  women 
and  minor  workers  in  the  Commonwealth,  Massachusetts  has 
enacted  a  law  creating  a  Minimum  Wage  Commission  for  the 
determination  of  minimum  wages  of  women  and  minors.  The 
Commission  is  to  undertake  its  duties  July  1  of  the  current 
year. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  13 


A   BILL 

For  an  Act  to  protect  the  lives,  health  and  morals  of 
women  and  minor  workers,  establishing  an  Industrial  Welfare 
Commission  for  women  and  minors,  prescribing  its  powers  and 
duties,  and  providing  for  the  fixing  of  minimum  wages  and 
maximum  hours  and  standard  conditions  of  labor  for  such 
workers,  and  providing  penalties  for  violations  of  the  Act. 

WHEREAS,  The  welfare  of  the  State  of  Oregon  demands 
that  women  and  minors  be  protected  from  conditions  of  labor 
which  have  a  pernicious  effect  on  their  health  and  morals; 
and 

WHEREAS,  Inadequate  wages,  unduly  long  hours  and 
unsanitary  conditions  of  labor  exert  such  pernicious  effect, 

THEREFORE,  BE  IT  ENACTED  By  the  People  of  the 
State  of  Oregon,  and  Be  It  Enacted  by  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly of  the  State  of  Oregon : 

Section  1.  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  employ  women  or 
minors  in  any  industry  or  occupation  within  the  State  of  Ore- 
gon for  unreasonably  long  daily  hours,  or  under  conditions  of 
labor  detrimental  to  their  health  or  morals;  and  it  shall  be 
unlawful  to  employ  women  in  any  industry  within  the  State 
of  Oregon  for  wages  which  are  not  adequate  for  their  decent 
maintenance. 

Section  2.  There  is  hereby  created  a  Commission  to  be 
known  as  the  "Industrial  Welfare  Commission  for  the  State 
of  Oregon,"  to  establish  such  standards  of  hours  of  employ- 
ment and  conditions  of  labor  for  women  and  minors  employed 
within  the  State  of  Oregon  as  shall  be  held  hereunder  reason- 
able and  not  detrimental  to  their  health  or  morals,  and  such 
standards  of  wages  as  shall  be  adequate  for  the  decent  main- 
tenance of  women. 

Section  3.  Said  Commission  shall  be  composed  of  five 
persons,  three  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
as  follows :  The  first  appointment  shall  be  made  within 
thirty  days  after  this  Act  takes  effect ;  one  for  the  term  ending 
January  1,  1914;  one  for  the  term  ending  January  1,  1915,  and 
one  for  the  term  ending  January  1,  1916;  provided,  however, 
that  at  the  expiration  of  their  respective  terms,  their  successors 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  serve  a  full  term  of 
three  years.  Any  vacancies  shall  be  filled  by  the  Governor 
for  the  unexpired  portion  of  the  term  in  which  the  vacancy 
shalt  occur.  The  Commissioner  of  Labor  Statistics  and  In- 
spector of  Factories  and  Workshops  shall  be  ex-officio  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Commission.  The  Secretary  of  the  Child  Labor 


14  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

Commission  of  Oregon  shall  be  ex-officio  a  member  of  said 
Commission.  Three  members  of  the  Commission  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum  at  all  regular  meetings  and  public  hearings. 

Section  4.  The  members  of  said  Commission  shall  draw 
no  salaries.  The  Commission  may  employ  a  Secretary  whose 
salary  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  monies  hereinafter  appropriated. 
All  claims  for  expenses  incurred  by  the  Commission  shall, 
after  approval  by  the  Commission,  be  passed  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  audit  and  payment. 

Section  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to 
ascertain  the  wages  and  hours  of  labor  and  conditions  of  labor 
of  women  and  minors  in  the  various  occupations,  trades  and 
industries  in  which  said  women  and  minors  are  employed  in 
the  State  of  Oregon.  To  this  end,  said  Commission  shall  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  call  for  statements  and  examine, 
either  through  its  members  or  other  authorized  representatives, 
all  books,  payrolls  or  other  records  of  all  persons,  firms  and 
corporations  employing  females  or  minors  as  to  any  matters 
that  would  have  a  bearing  upon  the  questions  of  wages  or 
hours  of  labor  or  conditions  of  labor  of  said  employes. 

Section  6.  Every  .employer  of  women  and  minors  shall 
keep  a  register  of  the  names  of  all  women  and  minors  em- 
ployed by  him,  and  shall  on  request  permit  the  Commission 
or  any  of  its  members  or  authorized  representatives  to  in- 
spect such  register.  For  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  a  minor  is 
defined  to  be  a  person  of  either  sex  under  the  age  of  eighteen 
(18)  years. 

Section  7.  The  Commission  may  specify  times  to  hold 
public  hearings,  at  which  times  employers,  employes  or 
other  interested  persons  may  appear  and  give  testimony  as 
to  the  matter  under  consideration.  The  Commission  shall 
have  power  to  subpoena  witnesses,  and  to  administer  oaths. 
All  witnesses  subpoenaed  by  the  Commission  shall  be  paid 
the  same  mileage  and  per  diem  allowed  by  law  for  witnesses 
before  the  Circuit  Court  in  civil  cases. 

Section  8.  If,  after  investigation,  the  Commission  is 
of  opinion  that  in  any  occupation,  trade  or  industry,  the 
wages  paid  to  fernale  employes  are  inadequate  to  supply  the 
necessary  cost  of  living  and  to  maintain  the  workers  in 
health,  or  that  the  hours  or  conditions  of  labor  are  preju- 
dicial to  the  health  or  morals  of  the  workers,  the  Commission 
is  empowered  to  call  a  Conference  composed  of  an  equal  num- 
ber of  representatives  of  employers  and  employes  in  the  oc- 
cupation, trade  or  industry  in  question,  together  with  one  or 
more  disinterested  persons  representing  the  public,  but  "the 
representatives  of  the  public  shall  not  exceed  the  number  of 
representatives  of  either  of  the  other  parties;  and  a  member  of 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  15 

the  Commission  shall  be  a  member  of  such  conference  and 
Chairman  thereof.  The  Commission  shall  make  rules  and 
regulations  governing  the  selection  of  representatives  and  the 
mode  of  procedure  of  said  conference,  and  shall  exercise  ex- 
clusive jurisdiction  over  all  questions  arising  as  to  the  validity 
of  the  procedure  and  of  the  recommendations  of  said  confer- 
ence. On  request  of  the  Commission,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  Conference  to  recommend  to  the  Commission  an  estimate 
of  the  minimum  wage  adequate  in  the  occupation  or  industry 
in  question  to  supply  the  necessary  cost  of  living,  and  to 
maintain  the  workers  in  health ;  to  report  on  the  number  of 
hours  of  work  per  day  consistent  with  the  health  of  the  work- 
ers, and  to  recommend  standards  of  conditions  of  labor  de- 
manded by  the  health  and  morals  of  the  employes.  In  de- 
termining questions  arising  in  different  localities  throughout 
the  state  the  Conferences  may  consider  the  different  condi- 
tions as  factors  in  reaching  conclusions,  and  the  Commission 
may  in  its  judgment  formulate  different  rules  in  different 
localities  based  upon  said  consideration.  The  findings  and 
recommendations  of  the  Conference  shall  be  made  a  matter 
of  record  for  the  use  of  the  Commission. 

Section  9.  Upon  the  receipt  of  such  recommendations 
from  a  Conference,  the  Commission  shall  review  the.  same  and 
may  approve  any  or  all  of  such  recommendations,  or  it  may 
disapprove  any  or  all  of  them  and  recommit  the  subject  or 
the  recommendations  disapproved  of,  to  the  same  or  a  new 
Conference.  After  such  approval  of  the  recommendation  of 
a  Conference,  the  Commission  shall  issue  an  obligatory  order 
to  be  effective  in  sixty  days  from  the  date  of  said  order,  spe- 
cifying the  minimum  wage  for  women  in  the  occupation,  trade 
or  industry  affected,  the  maximum  hours,  provided  that  the 
hours  specified  shall  not  be  more  than  the  legal  maximum  for 
women  in  Oregon,  and  the  standard  conditions  of  labor  for 
said  women ;  and  after  such  order  is  effective,  it  shall  be  un- 
lawful for  any  employer  in  said  occupation,  trade  or  industry 
to  employ  women  over  eighteen  (18)  years  of  age  for  less 
than  the  rate  of  wages  or  more  than  the  maximum  hours  speci- 
fied, or  under  conditions  of  labor  prohibited  for  women  so 
employed.  The  Commission  shall  send  by  mail  so  far  as 
practicable  to  each  employer  in  the  occupation  in  question  a 
copy  of  the  order,  and  each  such  employer  shall  be  required  to 
post  a  copy  of  said  order  in  each  building  in  which  women 
affected  by  the  order  are  employed. 

Section  10.  For  any  occupation,  trade  or  industry,  in 
which  a  minimum  time  rate  only  has  been  established,  the 
Commission,  through  its  Secretary,  may  issue  to  a  woman 
physically  defective  or  crippled  by  age  or  otherwise,  a  special 
license  authorizing  the  employment  of  such  license  for  a  wage 


16  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

less  than  the  legal  minimum  wage;  and  the  Commission  shall 
fix  the  minimum  wage  for  said  woman. 

Section  11.  The  Commission  may  at  any  time  inquire 
into  wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  labor  of  minors,  em- 
ployed in  any  occupation  in  the  state,  and  may  determine 
wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  labor  suitable  in  the  case  of 
minors.  When  the  Commission  has  made  such  determination 
in  the  case  of  minors,  it  may  proceed  to  issue  an  obligatory 
order  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  Section  9  of  this  Act, 
and  after  such  order  is  effective,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  anv 
employer  in  said  occupation  to  employ  a  minor  for  less  wages 
or  more  hours  than  is  specified  for  minors  in  said  occupation^ 
or  under  conditions  of  labor  prohibited  by  the  Commission 
for  said  minors  in  its  order. 

Section  12.  Upon  the  request  of  the  Commission  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor  Statistics  shall  furnish  to  the  Com- 
mission such  statistics  as  the  Commission  may  require. 

Section  13.  Any  employer  who  discharges,  or  in  any 
other  manner  discriminates  against  any  employe  because 
such  employe  has  testified  or  is  about  to  testify,  or  because 
such  employer  believes  that  said  employe  may  testify  in  any 
investigation  or  proceedings  relative  to  the  enforcement  of 
this  Act,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon 
conviction  thereof,  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  from  Twenty- 
five  Dollars  ($25.00)  to  One  Hundred  Dollars  ($100.00)  for 
each  such  misdemeanor. 

Section  14.  Any  person  employing  a  woman  or  minor 
for  whom  a  minimum  wage  or  maximum  hours  or  standard 
condition  of  labor  have  been  specified,  at  less  than  said  mini- 
mum wage,  or  for  more  than  the  specified  maximum  hours, 
or  under  conditions  of  labor  prohibited  by  the  order  of  the 
Commission ;  or  violating  any  other  of  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall,  upon 
conviction  thereof,  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
Twenty-five  Dollars  ($25.00)  or  more  than  One  Hundred 
Dollars  ($100.00)  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  County  Jail  for 
not  less  than  ten  (10)  days,  nor  more  than  three  (3)  months. 
Justice  courts  shall  have  jurisdiction  of  all  violations  of  this 
Act. 

Section  15.  If  any  female  employe  shall  receive  less  than 
the  legal  minimum  wage  in  any  occupation  for  which  a  mini- 
mum wage  has  been  determined  by  the  Commission,  she  shall 
be  entitled  to  recover  in  a  civil  action  the  full  amount  of  her 
minimum  wage  as  herein  provided  for,  together  with  costs 
and  attorney's  fees  to  be  fixed  by  the  court,  notwithstanding 
any  agreement  to  work  for  such  lesser  wage.  In  such  action, 
however,  the  employer  shall  be  credited  with  any  wages  which 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  17 

have  been  paid  upon  account,  whether  in  cash  or  otherwise. 

Section  16.  All  questions  of  fact  arising  under  this 
Act  shall  be  determined  by  the  Commission,  and  there  shall 
be  no  appeal  from  its  decision,  but  there  shall  be  a  right  of 
appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  State  of  Oregon  on  ques- 
tions of  law. 

Section  17.  The  Commission  shall  bi-ennially  make 
a  report  to  the  Governor  ar.cl  State  Legislature  of  its  investi- 
gations and  proceedings. 

Section  18.  There  is  hereby  appropriated  annually 
out  of  any  monies  of  the  State  Treasury  not  otherwise  ap- 
propriated, the  sum  of  Three  Thousand,  Five  Hundred  Dol- 
lars ($3,500.00),  or  as  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  Commission. 


18  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

REPORT   OF   THE   DIRECTOR 
OF    THE  SURVEY 

To  the  Social  Survey  Committee : 

I  herewith  submit  the  report  of  the  investigation  into  the 
wages,  hours,  conditions  of  labor  and  cost  and  standards  of 
living  of  women  workers  in  Oregon.  Acknowledgment  is 
due  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Survey  Committee,  Rev.  E.  V. 
O'Hara,  for  his  constant  advice  and  aid  in  carrying  out  the 
work;  to  Mr.  O.  P.  Hoff,  State  Labor  Commissioner,  and  to 
Mrs.  Millie  R.  Trumbull,  Secretary  Child  Labor  Commission. 
for  many  valuable  suggestions,  to  the  manufacturers  and  mer- 
chants who  have  opened  their  shops  and  payrolls  to  us  for 
inspection.  The  director  was  assisted  in  the  field  work  by 
Daisy  M.  Eager,  Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Gannett  and  Grace  G.  Collins. 

Respectfully  yours, 

CAROLINE  J.  GLEASOX, 

Director  of  Survey. 


INTRODUCTION. 
Purpose  of  Investigation. 

The  purpose  of  the  investigation  was  to  secure  accurate 
data  (1)  as  to  the  wages  paid  in  all  lines  of  work  to  self- 
supporting  women  in  this  State,  (2)  as  to  the  cost  of  living 
in  Portland  and  the  smaller  towns  of  the  state,  with  a  view  to 
determining  whether  wage-earning  women  are  receiving  a 
wage  that  permits  them  to  live  so  as  to  preserve  their  health 
and  their  morals,  and  to  save  against  future  needs ;  (3)  as  to 
conditions  which  would  affect  the  health  or  morals  of  the 
workers. 

A  hostile  attitude  has  never  been  assumed  by  the  in- 
vestigators towards  the  management  of  any  establishments. 
They  report  details  of  conditions  that  are  not  good,  or  which 
are  remarkably  bad.  Where  conditions  have  been  found  re- 
markably good,  mention  has  gladly  'been  made  of  them.  Yet 
a  state  of  affairs  should  rightly  not  exist  in  which  an  employer 
who  paid  his  employes  a  living  wage,  who  kept  his  shop 
in  a  clean,  healthful  condition,  should  feel  that  he  was  acting 
in  an  exceptionally  commendable  way.  A  sanitary  shop  and 
a  living  wage  ought  to  be  not  the  exception  but  the  rule — a 
standard,  the  opposite  of  which  would  call  for  general  dis- 
approval. 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Procedure  of  Investigation. 

\o  attempt  was  made  to  canvas  every  female  worker 
in  the  various  industries  for  cost  of  living  schedules,  nor  to 
gather  complete  wage  schedules  from  all  industries  in  the 
state.  A  number  that  would  accurately  represent  the  wage 
and  cost  of  living  situations  was  all  that  was  deemed  neces- 
sary. 

Four  lines  were  followed  in  gathering  information  : 

1.  Cards,  one  of  which  is  reproduced  below,  were 
distributed  among  women  workers,  and  when  filled  were  col- 
lected by  investigators.  To  reach  workers,  no  distinction 
was  made  in  establishments.  A  list  of  different  industries 
employing  women  was  drawn  up  and  every  house  on  the  list 
visited.  Over  2,000  cards  were  distributed;  509  were  collected 
in  Portland.  Workers  were  approached  at  lunch  and  closing 
hour  and  in  their  homes.  The  director  has  no  hesitancy  in 
presenting  information  gathered  from  cards  as  accurate. 

MINIMUM  WAGE  INVESTIGATION 

1.     WHAT  kind  of  ESTABLISHMENT  are  you  working 
in?    . 


2.  WHAT  is  your  work 

3.  WAGES— Week or   Month 

4.  HOURS  employed— Day or  Week. 

5.  LIVING  at  Home?  (Yes  or  No) 

6.  VACATION    with    pay? 

7.  HOW  long  with   firm? 

8.  FIRST    wage    here? 


COST  OF  LIVING 


1.  HOUSE  or  Room  rent,  per  year 

2.  FOOD,   per   year 

3.  CLOTHING,    per    year 

4.  CARFARE,  per  year 

5.  LAUNDRY,  per   year 

6.  DOCTOR  Bills,  per  year 

7.  CHURCH   Dues,  per  year 

8.  LODGE  Dues,  per  year 

9.  EDUCATION,  per  year  (books,  newspapers,  etc) 


10.     RECREATION,  including  vacation,  per  year 


NOTE. — On  reverse  side  of  card,  give  all  other  items  of 
expense  that  you  deem  proper,  or  information  concerning 
working  conditions. 

2.     A  second  method  was  to  solicit  wage  schedules  from 
employers  and  to  ask  their  views  on  the  labor  conditions  of 


20 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


female  employes  and  their  opinion  as  to  the  feasibility  of  the 
proposed  bill. 

3.  A  third  line  pursued  was  that  of  engaging  to  work  in 
different  establishments,  in  order  to  obtain  first-hand  informa- 
tion as  to  conditions  and  to  corroborate  both  employers'  and 
employes'  reports.     The  investigators  worked  as  employes  in 
12  factories. 

4.  A  fourth  line  pursued  was  that  of  visiting  boarding 
and  rooming-houses  and  private  families  who  advertised  room 
and  board,  in  all  sections  of  the  city,  to  discover  the  actual 
cost  of  food  and  lodging;    (b)   of  visiting  department  stores 
for  the  lowest  and  average  prices  on  articles  of  wear;  (c)  The 
director  of  the  investigation    went  to  southern,   western   and 
eastern  sections  of  the  state,  visiting  in  all  14  towns,  organiz- 
ing sub-committees   to  gather   wage   statistics  and   collecting 
information  herself  on  wages,  conditions  of  labor  and  cost  of 
living.     The  result  is  that  information  has  been  gained  about 
39  occupations  employing  women,  and  8,736  women  workers, 
7,603  of  these  being  in  Portland,  1,133  outside. 

Below  in  Table  1  is  given  a  list  of  the  industries  investi- 
gated in  Portland  and  the  number  of  workers  employed  in 
each. 

TABLE    1. 

Occupational  Distribution  of  7603  Women  Workers  in  Portland  employed  in 
39  occupations  investigated  in  regard  to  wages,  hours,  conditions  of  work  and  cost 
and  standards  of  living. 

Bag     Factories •.  .  .  137 

Broom    and    Basket    43 

Can     Factories 65 

Canning  Factories 100 

Chewing     Gum     Factories 80 

Cigar    Box    Factories 3 

Clothing     Factories 218 

Candy     Factories 212 

Cordage    Factories 16 

Creameries     17 

Curled    Hair    Factories 2 

Flour     Mills      8 

Furriers    

Mattress    Factories 12 

Meat  Packers 12 

Paper    Box    Factories 63 

Packing      106 

Prune     Canneries 35 

Pickle     Factories 16 

Shoe     Factories 2 

Soap      Factories 2 

Tobacco     Factories 

Tent    and    Awning    Factories 

Mohair    and    Woolen    Mills     99 

Factory   Total    1306 

COST  OF  LIVING. 

The  investigators  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  m 
Portland  $10  a  week  is  the  least  on  which  the  average,  girl 
can  support  herself  decently.  Facts  which  led  to  this  con- 
clusion were  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  the  girls  through 
the  509  schedules  detailing  their  living  expenses.  Certain  m- 


Cleaning    and     Dyeing 57 

Department     Stores     , . .  .  .2281 

Druggists     (wholesale) 102 

Dry  Goods   (wholesale)    125 

Electric     Co 314 

Five   and   Ten   Cent    Stores    120 

Grocers    (wholesale)     73 

Hairdressing      15 

Laundries     2 

Offices    (general)     800 

Printing    and    Stationery     2 

Stenographers      985 

Publishing     

Restaurants    and    Hotels     3 

Telephone    ••  570 

Total      6297 

Factories     131 

Total  7603 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  '  21 

dustries  demand  higher  standards  of  living  than  others;  also 
a  young  woman's  condition  as  to  whether  she  is  living  at 
home  or  is  a  girl  "adrift"  influences  her  cost  of  living. 

The  term  "adrift,"  used  in  connection  with  the  woman 
not  living  at  home,  may  need  some  explanation.  The  appli- 
cation of  the  word  is  that  given  by  the  Federal  Investigators 
in  their  Report  on  Women  and  Child  Wage  Earners  in  the 
U.  S.,  Vol.  V,  "Women  in  Stores  and  Factories/'  It  is  meant 
to  cover  all  cases  of  the  girl  "practically  without  a  home." 
Those  who  are  living  in  rooming  and  boarding-houses  and 
entirely  dependent  on  their  own  earnings,  are  undoubtedly 
"adrift."  The  question  arises  over  those  who,  though  living 
with  a  parent  or  other  near  relatives,  are  depended  upon  for 
care  and  support.  An  example  quoted  by  the  Federal  report 
is  thai  of  a  girl  supporting  an  invalid  father  by  her  income 
and  caring  also  for  the  house  :  "Not  absolutely  but  practically 
without  *a  home,  as  her  father  is  neither  physically  nor  men- 
tally able  to  sustain  her  in  time  of  need  or  restrain  her  in  time 
of  temptation."  The  widow  or  deserted  woman  with  de- 
pendent children  is  another  example  of  a  woman  "adrift." 
This  investigation  .came  across  women  difficult  to  classify, 
and  for  purposes  of  simplicity  adopted  this  description. 

Table  2  below  gives  the  average  annual  wage  and  ex- 
pense of  the  509  women  interviewed  in  Portland,  classified 
according  to  industry  and  whether  they  were  living  at  home 
or  adrift.  The  saving  or  deficit  is  also  indicated,  showing  the 
amount  of  outside  help  required  for  the  girl's  support. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  average  girl  in  every  occu- 
pation, except  office  work,  receives  wages  which  are  inadequate 
for  her  support,  and  consequently  would  face  the  end  of  the 
year  in  debt  if  she  does  not  receive  assistance  from  her  family 
or  some  outside  source.  This  shows  the  extent  to  which  in- 
dustries employing  women  are  parasitic  in  character. 

TABLE    2. 

Average  Annual  Wage  and  Expense  of  509  Women  Wage  Earners  in  Portland, 
classified  by  occupation  and  as  to  living  at  Home  or  Adrift: 

LAUNDRY. 

No.                 Average  Annual  Wage.  Expense.  Deficit.                  Saving. 

9   At   Home    $423.00  $474.45  $   51.45 

27   Adrift     464.00  475.05                        11.05 

FACTORY. 

82   At    Home    416.92  426.98  10.06 

18   Adrift     395.00  438.83  43.83 

OFFI.CE. 

57   At    Home    .  ...        542.14  599.50  57.36 

31    Adrift     692.90  617.07  $75.83 

DEPARTMENT    STORES. 

81    At   Home    459.50  605.36  145.86 

35   Adrift     480.57  572.42  91.85 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

99   At   Home 440.24  539.29  99.05 

70   Adrift     .  458.71  526.68  67.97 


22 


'  Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Out  of  127  persons  who  offered  information,  other  than 
the  schedules  called  for,  70  stated  that  they  could  not  live  on 
their  salaries  if  they  did  not  receive  outside  help;;  22  had  to 
help  support  families  that  ranged  from  4  to  9  persons;  15 
others  said  they  had  children  to  support ;  62  claimed  to  receive 
assistance  from  home.  The  wage  ranged  from  $2.50  to  $12 
per  week. 

Table  3  shows  what  is  the  average  cost  of  living  for  101 
young  women  in  the  state  at  large.  The  evidence  is  practically 
the  same  as  that  from  Portland.  Outside  it  amounts  to  $9.82 
a  week,  or  $42.55  a  month.  In  some  towns  the  actual  cost  <>i" 
living  would  be  slightly  lower  on  account  of  lack  of  car  service. 

TABLE    3. 

Average  amount  spent  annually  by  101  women  wage  earners  in  miscellaneous 
occupations  in  Oregon  (outside  Portland).  Information  obtained  from  Ashland, 
Baker,  Eugene,  Forest  Grove,  LaGrande,  Medford,  Oregon  City,  Pendleton,  Salem 
and  Vale: 

Room    and    Board $278.62 

Clothing      137.50 

Laundry      16.00 

Carfare    21.00 

Doctor  and  Dentist 18.00 

Church    and     Lodge 12.52 

Reading     6.54 

Recreation    20.50 


Total    

$9.82   a  week;   $42.55   a   month. 


.$510.68 


WAGES. 

Table  4  below  shows  that  out  of  3.217  wage  schedules, 
1920  were  under  $10  a  week.  A  median  average  was  struck 
for  1,306  additional  workers  in  53  factories.  The  median 
wage  here  was  $8.20  a  week,  which  means  that  50  per  cent 
were  receiving  less  than  $8.20  a  week,  50  per  cent  more.  To 
the  1920.  receiving  less  than  $10  a  week,  we  can  add  50  per 
cent  of  1,306,  or  653,  making  a  total  of  2,573  out  of  4,523,  or 
over  one-half,  receiving  less  than  $10  a  week.  The  lowest 
wage  reported  was  that  of  a  millinery  apprentice  earning  $1.50 
a  week ;  the  highest,  that  of  a  stenographer  earning  $35  a 
week.  TABLE  4. 

Summary  of  Weekly  Wages   of   Women   Employes   in   Portland: 


OCCUPATION 

.0 

& 

H 

Number 
over  $10 

1 

1! 

V 

11 

«5 
ll 

Derarttnent    Stores  

1211 

867 

2078 

58  2 

41  7 

Factories 

319 

108 

427 

74  7 

25  3 

Hotels    and    Restaurants 

105 

108 

213 

49  2 

50  8 

Laundries     

130 

10 

140 

92  6 

7  4 

Office   Help    (not  including  stenographers)  . 

59 

67 

126 

46  4 

53  6 

Stenographers    

19 

66 

85 

22  4 

77  5 

Printino-    Trades  

32 

25 

57 

56  1 

43  8 

Telephone    Operators 

25 

26 

52 

Miscellaneous    

19 

20 

39 

48  7 

51   ^ 

Total    1920       1297       3217       59.6       40.4 

/*  dditional    report    of    53    factories    representing    21    industries;     1306    women    em- 
ployed;  lowest  wage  reported,   $3  a  week;   median  wage,   $8.20  a  week. 

Total   number    of   wage    schedules    of   women    employes    in    Portland    received    and 
classified:    4,523. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  23 

Table  5  shows  the  average  wage  paid  in  different  lines  of 
work  outside  of  Portland.  26  towns,  with  1,133  women  wage- 
earners,  are  represented.  The  lowest  wage  is  that  offered  in 
hotels  and  restaurants,  where  18  women  earned  on  an  average 
of  $31.65  a  month.  Next  are  22  telephone  operators  earning 
an  average  of  $33.07  a  month.  Individual  schedules  reported 
an  operator's  wage  in  several  of  the  towns  as  $20  a  month. 
Stenographers  earn  the  largest  sums;  next  to  them,  with  a 
difference  of  $11  a  month,  are  retail  stores  and  laundries. 

TABLE    5. 

Wage  Information  for  1133  Women  Wage  Earners  in  Oregon  (Outside  of  Portland). 
(Wage  information  was  received  from  the  following  towns  and  cities:  Albany, 
Ashland,  Astoria,  Baker,  Cottage  Grove,  Dallas,  Enterprise,  Eugene,  Forest  Grove, 
Ihx.d  River,  Grants  Pass,  LaGrande,  McMinnville,  Medford,  Oregon  City,  Pen- 
dleton,  Roseburg,  Salem,  Springfield,  Stockton,  The  Dalles,  Union  and  Vale.) 

No.  of  Employes.  Industry,  Average  Monthly  Wage. 

88 Canneries  $35.00 

6 Condensed  Milk 38.00 

280 Woolen  Mills 37.50 

18 Hotels  and  Restaurants 31.65 

518 Laundries  39.50 

45 Office  Help 35.50 

140 v.  .  Retail  Stores 39.21 

16 Stenographers     50.00 

22 Telephone    Operators 33  07 

CONDITIONS  OF  LABOR. 

In  smaller  towns,  one  frequently  finds  an  attitude  of  fra- 
ternalism  between  employer  and  employe  which  makes  for 
consideration  on  both  sides.  Some  lines  of  work,  such  as  retail 
stores,  though  they  may  demand  much  at  one  time  of  day, 
have  decidedly  lessened  strain  at  others.  Because  of  a  smaller 
number  of  workers  to  an  establishment,  ventilation  and  light 
are  often  good.  In  Portland,  working  conditions  cannot  be 
described  as  a  whole  as  very  good,  fair  or  poor.  Some  estab- 
lishments were  found  which  could  be  placed  on  a  "white 
list."  Other  are  unspeakably  bad.  The  chapter  which  de- 
scribes these  in  detail  shows,  as  does  the  chapter  on  wages, 
the  need  of  legislation  to  preserve  the  health  and  morals  of 
the  workers. 

During  the  investigation,  several  phases  of  the  female 
labor  problem  have  been  brought  out  constantly.  One  of 
these  is  in  regard  to  the  efficiency  of  the  workers.  One  fact 
that  was  clearly  demonstrated  is  that  efficiency  is  certainly  not 
the  standard  according  to  which  the  majority  of  workers  are 
paid.  This  was  evidenced  (1)  by  the  dismissal  of  highly  paid, 
experienced  employes  and  the  employment  of  young,  inexpe- 
rienced substitutes ;  (2)  by  the  reduction  of  rates  on  piece- 
work when  employes  had  reached  a  certain  earning  capacity; 
(3)  by  the  fact  brought  out  again  and  again,  that  though  em- 
ployes were  retained  for  years  of  service,  though  their  effi- 
ciency increased  with  time,  they  found  it  an  impossibility  to 


24  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

keep  their  position  and  bring  their  wages  above  a  certain  low 
figure. 

Other  facts  that  seemed  to  account  for  inefficiency  lay 
in  the  unpleasant  and  sometimes  degrading  and  difficult  sur- 
roundings in  which  the  work  had  to  be  done. 

Lack  of  training  undoubtedly  has  much  to  do  with  in- 
efficiency. This  is  a  burden  which  must  be  assumed  by  so- 
ciety at  large  and  disposed  of  by  some  kind  of  industrial  train- 
ing for  girls  as  well  as  for  boys.  Until  education  of  this  sort 
is  compulsory,  some  of  the  evils  of  low  efficiency  will  remain. 

Another  cause  of  inefficiency,  however,  must  be  attributed 
to  the  careless  standards  of  employers.  If  cheap  help  is  em- 
ployed, cheap  work  must  be  expected.  Inexperienced  workers 
see  loose  methods  of  work  permitted  and  are  content  to  go 
on  in  the  way  they  have  begun.  A  concrete  example  of  this 
is  in  the  office  work.  Girls  of  16,  17  and  18  years  spend  six 
weeks  or  two  months  in  a  short  course  in  a  business  college. 
At  the  end  of  that  time,  they  are  ready  for  work.  As  might 
be  expected,  they  are  slow,  uneven  writers ;  they  hire  out  to 
a  firm  where  many  technical  terms  entirely  unknown  to 
them  are  used.  If  their  spelling  is  even  good  to  begin  with, 
it  stands  a  test  here  to  which  it  has  not  been  subjected,  and 
fails.  Even  though  an  attempt  is  made  by  the  stenographers 
to  "make  good"  in  this  work,  progress  is  retarded  by  the  lack 
of  preparation.  Girls  state  that  large  firms  employing  a  num- 
ber of  office  employes  permit  shoddy  work  to  go  through, 
and  practically  spoil  a  young  stenographer  for  future  high 
grade  work.  If  employers  insisted  that  their  office  help  had 
a  minimum  amount  of  elementary  schooling  and  an  approved 
business  training,  then  started  them  at  $40  a  month,  instead 
of  $20  and  $25,  the  girl  and  the  firm  would  profit  in  the  end. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  investigation  has  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  a  large 
majority  of  self-supporting  women  in  the  state  are  earning 
less  than  it  costs  them  to  live  decently ;  that  many  are  re- 
ceiving subsidiary  help  from  their  homes,  which  thus  con- 
tribute to  the  profits  of  their  employers ;  that  those  who  do 
not  receive  assistance  from  relatives  are  breaking  down  in 
health  from  lack  of  proper  nourishing  food  and  comfortable 
lodging  quarters,  or  are  supplementing  their  wages  by  money 
received  from  immoral  living.  That  even  in  places  where 
living  Wages  are  paid,  workshops  are  in  such  unsanitary  condi- 
tion that  immediate  changes  are  necessary ;  that  in  certain  in- 
dustries hours  of  labor  are  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  the 
workers.  For  the  remedying  of  these  evils,  proper  legislation 
seems  to  be  the  only  means. 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


25 


WAGES,  HOURS,  UNEMPLOYMENT 

RETAIL  STORES. 
Beginning  Wages  in  Department  Stores. 

Table  6  shows  that  the  beginning  weekly  wage  in  De- 
partment Stores  in  Portland  is  $3.00.  Only  two  girls  are 
registered  at  this  sum,  but  the  number  receiving  $4  calls  for 
more  attention.  Fifty  young  women,  or  2.4  per  cent,  are 
earning  a  sum  that  would  pay  only  for  a  decent  room  and 
carfare.  Nearly  ten  times  that  number,  or  489  (Table  7), 
are  working  for  less  than  $1  for  each  day  of  the  week. 

TABLE    6. 

Number    and    Per    Cent,    of    2078    Women    Workers    in    Portland    Department    Stores 
classified    by    weekly    earnings. 


s* 


Number    . 
Per    Cent 


2    |        50 
.09    |    2.40 


138    |     313 
6.63    |15.05 


1* 


145 
6.97 


331 
15.92 


232 
11.15 


505 
25.25 


326 
15.68 


36    |2078 
1.73    |    100 


TABLE    7. 

Cumulative   Number  and  Per  Cent,  of  2078  Women  Workers  in  Portland  Department 
Stores,    Classified    by    Earnings. 


& 

£ 

£ 

«» 

» 

ft 

0 

0 

• 

V 

•o 

c 

| 

8 

TJ 
C 

y 

TJ 

C 

V 

c 

i 

T3 

C 

V 

"O 

| 

2 
H 

t> 

o 

Number 

2 

38 

176 

489 

634 

965 

1211 

867 

2078 

Per     Cent  

.09 

2.49 

9.12 

24.17 

|    31.14 

|   47.06 

58.21 

41.79 

100 

Girls  earning  $3  and  $4  a  week  are  given  that  sum  because 
they  are  "young."  \Yc  expect  to  find  them  running  errands 
and  acting  as  cash  girls.  We  discover  them  in  steady  posi- 
tions as  clerks  and  in  the  office.  Six  dollars  a  week  is  the 
wage  most  frequently  offered  an  applicant  for  a  clerk's  posi- 
tion. Wrappers  receive  between  $25  and  $30  a  month.  The 
position  carries  a  certain  amount  of  responsibility,  as  the 
wrappers  must  measure  every  yard  of  goods  passing  through 
their  hands,  or  in  the  case  of  single  articles,  compare  the  price 
tag  and  the  clerk's  slip  to  see  that  the  sums  are  correct.  Such 
positions'  offer  very  little  hope  of  advancement.  Ten  dollars 
is  the  maximum  wage  that  the  majority  of  clerks  can  hope  to 
attain  to.  That  this  is  a  hope  for  the  majority  and  a  realiza- 
tion for  a  minority,  is  shown  in  Table  7,  which  indicates  that 
1,211  women  wage  earners  in  department  stores  are  earning 
under  $10.  The  867  who  are  earning  $10  and  over  are  rna-'e 
up  of  a  few  clerks,  the  highest  paid  office  help  and  heads  of 
departments. 


26  Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Complaint  Against  Their  Wage  System. 

One  of  the  greatest  complaints  to  be  found  with  the  large 
department  store  management  is  that  as  far  as  anyone  can 
find  out,  they  have  no  system  of  advancement  of  employes. 
Amount  of  sales,  increase  or  decrease,  is  watched,  to  be  sure, 
but  apparently  only  to  dismiss  the  employe  if  he  or  she  does 
not  come  up  to  a  certain  standard.  When  the  regulation  of 
wages  is  left  to  the  head  of  each  department,  the  demand 
that  the  returns  from  the  department  be  kept  at  'a  certain 
figure  is  likely  to  result  (for  men  and  women  alike)  in  the 
dismissal  of  competent,  high-paid  clerks,  or  reduction  of  their 
wages.  The  basis  of  advance  seems  to  'be  personal  aggres- 
siveness, and  this  is  testified  to  over  and  over  again  by  the 
girls. 

Secrecy  of  Wage  Rates. 

A  rule  existing,  written  or  unwritten,  in  all  the  larger 
stores,  is  that  the  girls  must  not  tell  others  what  wage  they 
are  getting.  Divulging  this  information  has  resulted  in  in- 
stant dismissal.  One  firm  goes  so  far  as  to  require  a  signed 
promise  from  the  girl  that  she  will  not  tell  any  other  employe 
her  wage.  The  following  is  quoted  from  the  firm's  application 
blank : 

"(Unless  you  can  answer  'yes'  to  these  questions,  do  not 
place  your  application  with  us)  : 

"1.  I  will  consider  it  my  duty  to  report  in  writing  or 
otherwise  to  the  Superintendent  iany  act  or  conduct  of  my 
fellow  employes  that  I  believe  to  be  against  the  interest  of 
the  business. 

"2.  My  engagement  can  be  terminated  any  hour  or  day 
at  the  option  of.. ,  I  being  at  liberty  to  do  likewise. 

"3.    I  agree  to  keep  my  salary  confidential. 

"I  have  answered  the  above  questions  in  the  affirmative 
(yes)  without  reservation,  and  agree,  if  engaged,  to  conform 
to  the  rules  of  the  house." 

Another  existing  rule  that  works  hardships  on  employes 
is  that  goods  under-charged,  mis-measured,  wrongly  addressed 
and  lost,  must  be  paid  for.  One  is  ready  to  acknowledge  that 
with  a  large  number  of  employes,  some  system  must  be 
adopted  whereby  the  more  irresponsible  ones  will  feel  the 
necessity  of  being  careful.  But  with  responsible  work  should 
go  a  corresponding  wage  which  would  enable  a  worker  to 
pay  for  a  possibly  accidental  mistake,  without  having  to  incur 
a  debt  for  it. 

An  observer  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  secrecy  of  wage 
scales  is  due  to  inability  to  explain  individual  large  sales  with 
low  wage,  or  long  service  with  persisting  low  wage ;  or  knowl- 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  27 


edge  of  the  cost  of  living  and  a  lower-than-cost-of-living 
wage.  Even  one  who  has  experienced  incompetent  service 
in  retail  stores  is  loath  to  admit  that  out  of  2,000  young 
women,  over  half  of  them  are  so  inefficient  that  they  do  not 
deserve  to  receive  what  it  reasonably  costs  them  to  live.  In- 
stances are  at  hand  of  girls  who  have  been  started  at  $17  per 
month  at  work  that  required  intelligence  and  application,  and 
at  the  end  of  two  years  were  receiveing  only  $20;  of  girls  who 
started  at  $7  per  week  and  at  the  end  of  9  years  were  receiving 
$13.  Department  stores  are  known  to  have  a  waiting  list.  Fe- 
male help  is  not  so  scarce  that  a  girl  who  cannot  make  herself 
worth  more  than  $5.00  per  week  after  two  years'  experience, 
is  worth  bothering  with  on  the  payroll.  The  same  can  be  said 
of  a  clerk  who  with  nine  years'  experience  behind  her  is 
worth  only  $2.08  per  day. 

A  fallacy  maintained  by  the  managers  and  used  as  an 
excuse  for  their  low  wage  scales  is  that  girls  who  live  at  home 
do  not  need  as  much  money  as  girls  who  are  boarding.  Many 
go  so  far  as  to  require  that  a  girl  be  living  at  home  before 
they  will  employ  her.  The  argument  against  this  is  that  the 
girl  at  home  surely  eats  three  meals  a  day,  as  the  girl  adrift 
is  suposed  to  do,  and  food  for  the  former  costs  as  much  as 
for  the  latter.  If  she  is  receiving  only  enough  to  pay  for  her 
clothing,  who  pays  for  her  food  and  laundry?  If  her 
parents  or  her  guardians  do,  are  they  not  contributing  just 
that  much  toward  the  revenues  of  the  store?  and  if  she  is  a 
"charity  girl,"  who  pays  for  her  lunches  with  the  loss  of  her 
virtue,  can  she  not  hold  the  department  store  more  heavily 
her  debtor  than  do  the  parents  of  the  virtuous  girl?  Table 
2  on  page  --  shows  that  the  average  wage  of  the  girl  adrift 
is  $21  a  year  more  than  the  average  wage  of  the  girl  living 
at  home,  but  the  same  table  also  shows  that  the  girl  adrift 
has  an  annual  deficit  of  $91.85  and  no  home  to  rely  upon  for 
payment  of  it.  $145.86  is  the  annual  deficit  the  department 
store  girl  at  home  would  have  to  face,  did  she  pay  room  and 
board  fees,  as  does  the  girl  adrift. 

Wages  in  the  State  at  Large. 

Wages  in  retail  stores  outside  of  Portland  average  higher 
for  the  large  majority,  'but  do  not  reach  the  maximum  paid 
here.  Out  of  14  towns  reporting  on  this  industry,  only  one 
has  a  wage  of  $6,  or  less,  a  week.  The  highest  paid  is  $50. 
The  average  paid  in  the  other  twelve  towns  is  $39.20.  Table 
5,  page  --  shows  the  average  wage  paid  in  the  different  in- 
dustries in  all  towns  outside  of  Portland. 

Hours. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  that  since  this  investigation 
began,  one  of  the  large  department  stores  of  Portland  has 
announced  an  eight-hour  day  for  its  employes. 


28  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

In  all  but  one  of  the  department  stores  in  Portland  the 
girls  "ring  in"  at  eight  o'clock.  In  Xo.  1,  an  SVj-hour  day 
was  given  as  a  Christmas  present  to  the  employes.  Here  a 
45-minute  lunch  hour  is  allowed,  and  in  return  for  the  sacri- 
ficed 15  minutes,  the  employes  of  one  year  or 'more  are  »iven 
a  week's  vacation  with  pay.  The  firm  can,  even  with  this 
arrangement,  save  more  than  they  pay  out  in  vacation  money. 
Besides  this,  many  girls  work  less  than  a  year,  and  though 
they  give  up  the  fifteen  minutes  of  lunch  hour  for  nine  months, 
get  nothing  for  it.  However,  this  firm's  example  of  8  hours 
is  much  to  be  commended,  since  some  of  its  competitors  are 
still  open  10  hours.  Firm  Xo.  2  not  long  ago  began  closing  at 
5:45  p.  m.,  but  at  the  same  time  took  15  minutes  from  the 
lunch  hour.  This  firm  does  not  open  the  store  to  the  cus- 
tomers at  present  till  8:30  a.  m.,  though  the  girls  are  required 
to  be  on  duty  at  8.  To  the  clerks,  this  is  very  little  relief 
as  the  trade  the  first  hour  after  opening  is  so  light  that  there 
is  small  difficulty  in  arranging  stock.  The  third  large  firm 
has  always  opposed  any  policy  that  seemed  to  aim  at  real 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  its  employes.  It  still  main- 
tains a  full  10-hour  day  with  an  hour  for  lunch.  On  Satur- 
days, the  employes  work  in  broken  shifts,  an  arrangement 
that  betides  ill  for  the  girl  living  too  far  from  home  to  return 
there  betwee:n  shifts.  It  has  persisted  in  Saturday  afternoon 
and  evening  work  during  the  summer  when  its  competitors 
announced  that  thev  were  willing  to  close  if  No.  3  would. 
Firm  Xo.  1  stayed  closed  Saturday  evenings  for  a  year  longer 
than  2  and  3  did  when  the  experiment  was  tried  several  years 
ago,  and  eventually  g^iven  up.  A  fourth  store  during  the  past 
summer  closed  on  Thursday  afternoon  each  week. 

Saturday  Evening  Closing. 

Saturdav  evening  closing  has  been  introduced  to  such 
an  extent  in  eastern  cities  without  harm  to  the  owners' 
profits  that  it  has  been  agitated  here.  Though  the  girls  do 
not  work  more  than  ten  hours  on  Saturday,  the  time  off  dur- 
ing the  day  means  very  little  in  the  way  of  rest  or  accom- 
plishment, while  the  added  expense  of  the  Saturday  night  meal 
and  during  Christmas  week  of  the  six  extra  suppers  down- 
town is  complained  of  loudly.  Xo  instances  have  been  re- 
ported of  "lunch  money"  being  given  to  skirls  when  kept  down- 
town for  night  work,  or  of  $1  or  $1.25  being  added  to  the 
Christmas  week's  wa^e.  The  evils  of  night  work  appeared 
particularly  grave  during  the  holiday  season  just  closed,  when 
some  of  the  girls  thought  it  necessary  to  take  opiates  to  main- 
tain their  strength  for  their  work. 

Overtime. 

"Broken  shifts"  mentioned  earlier  is  the  arrangement  sub- 
stituted for  overtime.  Yet  overtime  still  exists  in  department 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  29 


stores  to  a  certain  extent.  Previous  to  Christmas,  when  the 
season  for  decorating  was  at  hand,  girls  were  asked  whether 
they  would  "like"  to  come  back  on  Sunday  and  work.  Know- 
ing what  refusal  meant,  they  dared  not  "dislike"  it.  In  some 
cases,  when  brought  back  on  a  Sunday,  the  doors  were  locked, 
and  they  were  thus  prevented  from  going  home  when  they 
wished.  During  Christmas  week  girls  in  mail  order  and  Dther 
departments  worked  as  much  as  an  hour  overtime.  Such  a 
thing  as  overtime  pay  in  these  cases  is  unknown. 

Unemployment. 

Periodic  rush  seasons  come  in  the  Christmas  holidays 
and  in  the  before-Easter  and  spring  season.  After  Christmas  a 
large  percentage  of  the  force  in  the  large  stores  is  laid  off.  As  a 
general  rule,  the  clerks  expect  dismissal  to  be  on  the  basis 
ot  length  of  service,  but  they  claim  that  they  can  never  be 
certain  of  their  positions  even  though  employed  for  two  years. 
One  concrete  instance  was  that  of  a  girl  in  service  for  a  year. 
A  friend  of  the  head  of  a  department  was  put  on  for  the 
Christinas  rush;  at  the  end  of  the  holidays  the  new  girl  was 
given  a  permanent  position,  the  old  one  laid  off,  the  reason 
assigned  being  that  she  would  not  be  needed  in  the  dull  sea- 
son. Her  mother  was  ill  and  dependent  on  her,  and  the  girl 
was  in  hard  straits  for  work.  A  friend,  hearing  of  this,  in- 
terceded and  after  a  month's  unemployment,  she  was  taken 
back.  She  did  not  blame  the  managers  for  this,  saying  that 
they  knew  nothing  of  it,  but  held  the  head  of  the  department 
responsible. 

Hours  Outside  of  Portland. 

(  Hitside  of  Portland,  the  standard  of  hours  is  a  more  le- 
nient one.  Some  firms  do  not  maintain  the  full  ten  hours, 
but  even  where  they  do,  the  work  is  usually  much  lighter. 
Fewer  customers,  more  opportunity  to  rest,  less  open  sur- 
veillance and  a  feeling  of  friendliness  between  employer  and 
employe  make  the  limit  of  the  law  less  a  burden. 

Five,  Ten  and  Fifteen  Cent  Stores. 

Though  many  of  the  statements  made  about  wages, 
hours,  conditions  of  employment  in  department  stores  apply 
to  the  5c,  lOc  and  15c  stores  as  well,  their  wages  here  as  a 
whole  are  so  miserable,  their  attempt  to  trade  on  the  "youth 
and  consequent  cheapness"  (see  note  at  bottom  of  page)  of 
the  girls  so  open,  that  their  system  needs  a  special  word. 

Below  in  Table  8  is  given  specific  data  concerning  wage 
and  length  of  time  with  firm  of  13  girls  in  the  5c,  lOc  and  15c 
stores  in  Portland.  This  indicates  that  $4  a  week  is  a  begin- 

*  "An  ugly  item  in  recent  finance  is  the  circular  by  the  Woolworth  Company 
(United  5c  and  lOc  Stores),  notifying  subscribers  that  the  investment  would  be 
profitable  because  of  the  small  wages  paid  to  clerks  by  reason  of  their  youth  and 
consequent  cheapness." — Mrs.  Florence  Kelley. 


30  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

ning  and  long  continued  wage,  $6  being  about  the  happiest 
maximum  that  an  applicant  can  expect.  Local  superintend- 
ents are  controlled  entirely  by  the  eastern  board  of  directors, 
but  even  the  former  realize  the  sham  ef  illness  of  the  policy 
of  the  latter.  A  superintendent  of  one  of  the  large  5c  and  lOc 
stores  in  the  state  made  a  statement  which  he  said  could  be 
used  for  publication.  He  was  not  able  to  give  the  wage  sched- 
ule without  the  consent  of  the  owners ;  for  this,  eastern  head- 
quarters would  have  to  be  communicated  with.  He  himself 
is  in  sympathy  with  Wage  Legislation  and  declares  that  the 
syndicate  which  he  represents  will  never  raise  the  scale  un- 
less compelled  to  by  law.  At  the  annual  convention  at  San 
Francisco  he  took  the  floor  and  made  a  plea  for  an  increase 
in  wages  for  women,  which  was  endorsed  by  all  the  other 
managers.  The  board  of  directors  simply  laughed  them  down. 
He  says  that  he  employs  only  girls  who  live  at  home,  be- 
cause he  knows  the  wages  paid  are  not  sufficient  to  support 
them  otherwise.  Investigation,  however,  showed  some  of  the 
employes  living  "adrift."  Their  wages  are  regulated  by  a' cer- 
tain percentage  of  the  sales  set  aside  for  the  purpose.  The 
board  of  directors  does  not  care  whether  the  superintendent 
spends  that  amount  for  50  or  150  girls,  but  he  must  take  care 
of  the  public  and  get  results. 

TABLE   8. 

Wage    Information    Given   by    13    Girls   Working    in    Five   and   Ten    Cent   Stores. 

Number  receiving  $4.00  a  week  4 

Number  receiving     4.50  a  week  7 

Number  receiving     5.00  a  week  1 

Number  receiving     6.00  a  week  1 

Total     13 

No.  First  Wage.     '     Time  with  Firm         Present  Wage 

1  $4.00  1   month  $4.00 

2  4.00  1  month  4.00 

3  4.00  2  months  4.00 

4  4.00  6  months  4.00 

5  4.00  3  months  4.50 

6  4.00  6  months  4.50 

7  4.00  2  months  5.00 

8  4.50  2  months  4.50 

9  4.50  4  months  4.50 

10  4.50  2  months  4.50 

11  4.50  1   week  4.50 

12  4.50  2  months  4.50 

13  6.00  2  months  6.00 

Comments. — "I  have  only  money  enough,  after  paying  carfare,  to  pay  for  my 
clothing."  "Mother  helps  me."  "My  salary  is  so  small  that  I  have  to  work  for 
my  room  and  board  after  working  ten  hours  in  the  store.  Sunday  I  wash  and  iron 
for  the  people  I  live  with.  My  folks  cannot  help  me."  "Two  children  to  support." 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


31 


FACTORIES. 
Beginning  Wages. 

From  $3.00  to  $6.00  per  week  is  offered  beginners  in  fac- 
tories. Bag  factories  offer  $4.00,  candy  factories  $5.00,  woolen 
mills  $6.00.  Girls  starting  at  $4.00  per  week  are  kept  on  this 
rate  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  when  they  are  put  on  piece 
work.  Clothing  and  shoe  factories  offer  $1.00  per  day  each. 
Bookbinderies,  which  are  unionized,  pay  $6.00  per  week  to 
beginners  ;  tent  and  awning  factories  $1.25  per  day.  Canneries 
start  workers  in  immediately  on  piece  work,  which  in  the 
busy  season  for  12  or  16  hours  daily  work  nets  a  woman  from 
$3  to  $5  per  week.  At  the  opening  of  the  season,  when  fruit  is 
not  abundant,  stemming  strawberries  is  paid  for  at  the  rate  of 
18  cents  a  crate  of  24  boxes ;  stemming  cherries  at  14  cents 
per  bushel.  When  fruit  piled  in  and  workers  were  in 
demand,  24  cents  a  crate  of  24  boxes  and  22  cents  a  bushel 
for  cherries  were  offered.  Tobacco  factories  also  pay  beginners 
by  piece  rate  system.  Stripping  tobacco  at  5  cents  a  pound 
nets  a  beginner  here  from  20  cents  to  45  cents  per  day. 
Tobacco  is  so  very  light  in  weight  that  it  fakes  many  leaves 
to  make  a  pound. 

Wages  in  Factories. 

TABLE  9. 
Weekly   Wage    Schedule    of   427    Women    Factory   Workers   in    Portland. 


•°  u, 
o 

*1 


*! 


38 


si 


S 


- 
•* 


s 


Number 
Per    Cent.    .  . 


6 

1.4 


25 
5.8 


58 
13.5 


56 
13.1 


61 
14.2 


51 
11.9 


62    | 
14.5    I 


58 
13.5 


42    | 
9.8    | 


1.8 


427 
100 


Table  9,  above,  shows  in  detail  the  weekly  wage  of  427 
factory  girls  in  Portland.  We  find  here  that  women  are 
working  for  $3.00  per  week.  From  Table  10,  showing  the 
cumulative  number  and  per  cent  of  workers  with  their  re- 
spective wage,  we  learn  that  145  women,  or  one-third  of  the 
entire  number  investigated  are  earning  under  $7.00,  while 
nearly  one-half  get  less  than  $8.00  per  week. 

TABLE    10. 


Cumulative    Number    and    Per    Cent,    of    427    Women    Factory    Employes    in    Portland 
classified    by   weekly   earnings. 


£ 

M 

S 

«J 

« 

« 

o 

0 

in 

k, 

b 

b 

ti 

i 

y 

•» 

1 

T3 

*O 

•o 

•0 

•o 

*o 

»ri 

o 

C 

3 

a 

c 

B 

H 

e 

L^ 

D 

£> 

D 

tD 

^ 

tJ 

0 

Number    

6 

31 

89 

145 

206 

257 

319 

108 

427 

Per    Cent  

1.4 

7.2 

20.8 

33.9 

48.1 

60.1 

74.7 

25.3 

100 

32  Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Maximum  Wage. 

Forty-five  cents  a  day  is  an  impossible  wage.  Six  dollars 
or  $7.50  per  week  may  be  unquestioned  where  it  is  maintained 
merely  as  apprentice's  wages  and  dispensed  with  when  the 
girl  has  learned  to  work,  but  apparently  several  years  oi 
service  count  lor  no  more  than  an  apprentice's  hours.  In  Table 
10  above  we  find  that  out  of  427  factory  women  in  Portland, 
74.7  per  cent,  or  three-fourths,  are  earning  less  than  $10.00 
a  week;  13.5  per  cent  are  earning  $10,  whi-le  11.6  per  cent 
are  earning  over  $12,  but  less  than  $20  a  week.  50  women 
out  of  427  are  represented  by  11.6  per  cent.  The  wages  of 
$12,  but  less  than  $20,  represent  in  some  cases  the  result 
of  18  years  work  at  an  industry.  They  are  the  maximum 
that  these  women  may  expect  to  earn.  One  fact  that  is  re- 
sponsible for  this  stationary  maximum  wage  is  that  when  a 
piece  worker  begins  to  'accumulate  speed,  the  prices  of  work 
are  cut,  and  she  finds  herself  set  back  a  year  as  far  as  her 
earning  power  is  concerned. 

The  director  of  the  investigation  and  one  of  her  investi- 
gators,  in   order  to   learn   the   truth   as   to   wages,   conditions 
of   labor,   efficiency   of   workers,   and   causes    of    inefficiency, 
have  during  the  investigation   worked  in  ten  different  facto^ 
ries.     In  one  of  the  paper  box  factories  where  she  applied, 
an  investigator  started  at  $4  per  week.    She  stayed  three  days 
only,  but  during  that  time,  kept  account  of  what  'her  earnings 
would  have  been  had  she  been  working  on  piece   rates.     In 
order  to  be  fair  to  the  factory  management,  she  worked  her 
very  hardest  and  wasted  no  time.     She  discovered  that  the 
first  day  she  would  have  earned  78  cents,  second  day  68  cents 
and  the  third  day  58  cents.     She  felt  that  though  new  to  the 
work,   she   should  have  been  able   to   earn   a  good   wage,   as 
she  brought  a  higher  degree  of  training  and  adaptability  than 
did   some   of  the   unschooled   workers.     One   reason   for   her 
decrease  in  wage  was  that  the  first  day's  work  would  have 
been  paid  at  the  rate  of  10  cents  per  100  pieces  and  required 
three  handlings.     It  was  unskilled,  but  needed  a  little  care. 
The  second  day's  work  required  the  same  number  of  hand- 
lings, was  paid  at  the  same  rate,  but  required  twice  the  time 
to  bring  the  supplies  and  dispose  of  them,  and  much  dexterity 
in  handling  materials.     The  third  day's   work  required   nine 
handlings,  and  was  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  15  cents  per  100, — 
three    times    as    -much    work,    with    only    50    per    cent    more 
compensation.        To     one     of    the     girls     who     had     worked 
there  a  year,  the  remark  was  made  that  it  would  take  a  long 
time  to  earn  15  cents  at  the  third  class  of  work,  and  she  an- 
swered, "Oh,  you  can  make  absolutely  nothing  on  that."  One 
young  woman,  who  had  spent  four  years  in  this  trade,  who 
had  a  mother  and  younger  sisters  dependent  upon  her,  and 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


33 


was  an  earnest,  quiet  worker,  was  able  to  make  between  $9 
and  $10  only,  even  in  the  busy  season.  This,  she  maintained, 
was  because  such  inefficient  help  was  employed  in  the  pre- 
paring room  that  rough,  uneven  work  was  done,  and  pre- 
vented the  skilled  help  from  working  as  swiftly  as  they  could 
if  careful  work  were  put  into  the  foundation  of  the  boxes. 
To  the  investigator,  it  seemed  that  so  unpromising  was  the 
wage,  so  wearisome  and  exhausting  the  work  and  the  effort  to 
make  a  few  cents,  that  one  need  not  be  surprised  if  the  girls 
take  no  pride  in  what  they  accomplish,  are  careless  and  indif- 
ferent as  to  the  work  they  do,  so  long  as  it  can  pass  the  fore- 
man. Poor  conditions  of  workrooms  are  also  responsible  for 
shiftlessness,  but  this  will  be  shown  later. 

TABLE  11. 
Factories  in    Portland   Reporting   Wage    Schedules  of  Women   Workers. 


g 

g 

& 

s 

w 

"O 

rt 

1 

1 

l! 

^  >> 

It 

1 

d 

w 

ji> 

^U 

5 

^ 

1 

Number     

53 

21 

1306 

$3.00 

$8.20 

Hours. 

Strict  enforcement  of  the  10-hour  day,  60-hour  week  fe- 
male labor  law  has  done  away  with  much  of  the  overtime 
work  that  previously  existed.  The  problem  is  solved  in  some 
places  now  by  working  a  night  shift  in  the  Christmas  and 
spring  rush  seasons.  Some  managers  still  prefer  to  run  the 
risk  of  being  caught  at  permitting  or  forcing  overtime  work 
and  being  made  to  pay  the  penalty. 

Some  of  the  factories  blow  the  work  Whistle  at  7 :00 
o'clock  a.  m.,  but  the  majority  employing  women  do  not  start 
before  7  :30.  An  hour  for  lunch  is  granted.  Factories  start- 
ing at  7  :30  close  at  5  :30.  Fifteen  minutes  for  cleaning  work- 
rooms is  often  given  just  before  closing  time,  but  in  those 
establishments  where  less  than  a  60-hour  per  week  schedule 
is  maintained,  employes  use  part  of  Saturday  afternoon  for 
sweeping  floors  and  scrubbing  work  tables. 

Fruit  and  vegetable  canneries  are  probably  the  most  flag- 
rant violators  of  the  labor  law,  both  as  to  length  of  hours  ^of 
women's  work  and  age  of  children  permitted  to  work.  The  child 
labor  law  forbids  employment  of  children  under  16,  even  dur- 
ing the  vacation  months  without  a  permit,  and  under  no  cir- 
cumstances is  a  permit  given  to  a  child  under  12  years  of  age. 
Yet  investigators  working  in  the  canneries  in  the  summer  of 
1912  saw  children  under  11  years  of  age  with  their  parents, 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


and  sometimes  unaccompanied,  work  more  than  the  ten  hours 
a  day  allowed  an  adult.  Canneries  are  open  at  6  o'clock 
a.  m.  They  close  at  10:30  p.  m.  One-half  hour  is  permitted 
at  noon  for  lunch.  Employes  are  threatened  with  loss  of  work 
if  they  stop  for  an  evening  lunch,  and  because  this  threat  doeo 
not  always  keep  them  in,  the  entrance  doors  are  sometimes 
locked  at  6  o'clock.  Children  of  12  and  13  employed  in  the 
factories  have  been  seen  crying  in  the  evening  because  they 
were  too  tired  to  work,  yet  could  not  get  home  on  account  of 
locked  doors.  Overtime  is  paid  in  the  cannery  at  the  regular 
piece  rates.  At  the  close  of  the  season,  old  men  and  women 
who  could  not  work  elsewhere  were  kept  on  peeling  apples 
for  2  cents  a  pan,  and  this  in  an  unheated,  fog-laden,  damp 
cement-floored  workroom.  Earlier  in  the  season  the  rate  had 
been  3  cents  a  pan ! 

Unemployment. 

The  rush  season  for  bag  and  paper  box,  candy  and  fur 
factories  comes  just  before  Christmas.  Paper  box  and  candy 
establishments  are  busy  again  from  February  to  Easter,  when 
the  clothing  season  begins  to  "swing  in  full."  Canneries  main- 
tain only  a  six  months'  season — from  June  until  December. 

The  problem  of  unemployment  which  is  suggested  by  the 
mention  of  "rush"  and  "dull"  seasons  is  a  serious  one  to  the 
workers.  Practically  three-fourths  of  the  wage-earning  women 
of  the  state  have  to  reckon  on  a  period  of  unemployment 
which  must  be  prepared  for  "somehow  or  other."  Industries 
such  as  the  canneries  are  known  to  be  open  for  only  a  few 
months.  They  employ  in  part  a  class  of  women,  often 
mothers  of  households,  who  do  not  work  away  from  home 
the  other  six  months  of  the  year,  or  if  they  do,  engage  for 
"day  work,"  but  to  them  the  money  that  they  can  earn  during 
these  summer  months  means  much  toward  the  winter  fuel  and 
winter  clothes  of  children.  They  employ,  too,  girls  who  may 
have  been  dismissed  from  a  trade  starting  on  its  quiet  season. 
Sometimes  they  have  been  out  of  work  for  one  or  two  months, 
trying  to  get  work  somewhere  else,  but  dependent  on  this 
when  June  comes. 

In  such  trades  as  the  clothing,  shoe,  candy  and  can  mak- 
ing industries,  which  run  all  year,  the  applicant  is  always 
hoping  for  an  opportunity  to  "make  good"  to  the  extent  that 
she  will  be  kept  on  when  the  dull  season  'arrives.  To  her  un- 
employment means  a  serious  evil.  Her  wages  during  em- 
ployment do  not  keep  her  well  housed  and  clothed.  How  can 
she  save  for  the  day  when  she  will  be  out  of  work?  Figures 
of  the  number  employed  in  the  two  seasons  in  a  few  of  the 
trades  show  the  extent  of  the  problem.  Clothing  factories 
hiring  300  and  150  dismiss  200  and  100  respectively  in  the  dull 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


35 


season.  Three  other  factories  of  different  work  employing 
150,  80  and  20  respectively  in  the  busy  season  dismiss  115,  60 
and  15  in  the  dull  season.  Unemployment  in  other  trades  will 
be  noted  when  they  are  described. 


LAUNDRIES. 
Wages. 

Laundry  work  has  the  name  of  being  one  of  the  best 
paid  lines  requiring  chiefly  hand  work.  In  reality,  it  is  one 
of  the  poorest.  The  minimum  wage  is  $1.25  a  day,  but  the 
maximum  is  $2.00,  above  which  even  the  most  skilled  seldom 
go.  Below  is  a  typical  wage  schedule: 

TABLE    12. 

Markers     $1.50  per  day. 

Starch  Room 15c  and  17*c  to  20c  per  hour. 

Manglers     $1.35   to  $1.50  per  day. 

Folders     $1.25   to  $1.35  per  day. 

Stackers     $1.25   to  $1.35   per  day. 

Body    Manglers $1.75   to  $2.00  per  day. 

Ironers    $1.50  to  $2.00  per  day. 

TABLE    13. 

Weekly  Wage  Schedules  of  Women  Workers  in  Portland. 
Laundries.      140  Women  Employes. 


fl 

l{ 

ss 

-°    V. 

V 

£g 

o 

3  0» 

•°   n 
V 

«•§ 

3 

o| 

.0** 

si 

J2 

re 

O 

29 

38 

41 

22 

6 

4 

140 

Per    Cent  

20.6 

27.1 

29.2 

15.7 

|   4.3 

2.8 

100 

TABLE    14. 

Cumulative    Number  and   Per   Cent,   of   140  Women   Employed   in   Portland   Laundries, 
classified    by    weekly    earnings. 


£» 

8 

•» 

o 

0 

u 

,_, 

t& 

| 

u 

B 

1 

1 

"c 

T3 

a 

t> 

> 

H 

^ 

5 

tJ 

O 

MutnhAr 

29 

67 

108 

130 

10 

140 

Per   Cent  

20.6 

47.7 

76.9 

92.6 

7.4 

100 

Table  13  shows  the  weekly  wage  schedule  of  140  women 
workers  in  Portland.  From  this  it  appears  that  though  man- 
agers announce  their  minimum  as  that  given  above,  $1.25  per 
day,  there  are  29  laundry  workers  in  Portland  Who  are  earning 
only  $1  a  day.  None  reported  earning  $15  a  week.  Those 
earning  $12  per  week  are  l-35th  of  the  whole  number;  those 
earning  $10  are  l-23rd  of  the  140.  Table  14  shows  the  cumu- 
lative number  earning  under  $10.  130  out  of  the  140  women 
interviewed,  are  earning  less  than  it  costs  them  to  live.  (See 
Cost  of  Living  Tables). 


36 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


Hours. 

Out  of  19  laundries  investigated  in  Portland,  but  two  re- 
ported a  day  less  than  9  hours  ;  the  remainder  vary  between 
that  and  10  hours. 

Overtime. 


Overtime  is  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  from  10  cents  to  12^2 
cents  an  hour.  Beginning  in  May  and  continuing  through 
the  summer,  laundries  work  to  almost  their  full  capacity.  In 
the  warmest  months,  overtime  from  one-half  to  three  hours 
a  day  is  exacted.  As  one  woman  remarked,  "The  exhaustion 
of  overtime  is  not  worth  the  10  to  20  cents  —  mere  carfare  — 
that  we  earn."  Like  the  factories  and  department  stores, 
the  laundries  lay  off  a  large  percentage  of  their  help  during 
the  dull  season.  The  experienced  ironers  may  find  it  possible 
to  do  family  washing  by  the  day,  but  for  the  more  unskilled 
workers  the  problem  of  being  out  of  work  in  the  winter  time 
is  a  serious  one. 

Wages   Outside   of   Portland. 

Wages  in  laundries  throughout  the  state  so  very  nearly 
•approach  the  wage  in  Portland  that  scarcely  any  comment 
is  needed.  Table  5  shows  that  the  average  wage  per  month 
of  518  women  working  in  laundries  outside  of  Portland  is 
$39.50.  The  hardships  of  the  work  diminish  slightly  with  the 
volume  of  it. 

Hours  Outside  of  Portland. 

Of  32  laundries  outside  of  Portland  investigated  as  to 
hours  of  work,  2  reported  an  8-hour  day;  12  a  9-hour  day, 
and  15  -a  full  10-hour  day.  Some  of  those  who  maintain  a 
9-hour  schedule  are  competing  with  others  who  maintain 
a  9%-hour  day. 

OFFICE  HELP. 
Wages. 

Beginners'  Wages.  —  For  an  occupation  that  calls  tor  a 
more  mature  worker  than  some  of  the  confessedly  low-paid 
industries,  'and  for  one  that  demands  brain  rather  than  brawn, 
office  work  offers  astonishingly  small  wages.  In  this  investi- 
gation, those  who  did  stenographic  and  bookkeeping  work 
were  not  separated  from  those  who  did  stenographic  work 
only,  for  the  reason  that  where  a  stenographer  has  books  to 
keep  they  are  usually  simple  and  easy.  Those  classed  as 

TABLE    15. 

Weekly    Wage    Schedules    of    Women    Workers    in    Portland. 
Office  Help    (not  including   Stenographers)    126  employes. 


s* 


2- 
«* 


s 


Number    |       3    |       13    |      7 

Per     Cent |   2.3    |    10.2    |    5.5 


25 

19.7 


11 

8.7 


20 
15.8 


24 
18.3 


18 
14.2 


5 
3.9 


126 
100 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


37 


general  office  help  included  filers,  billers,  stock  girls,  desk 
clerks  and  cashiers.  The  lowest  wage  indicated  in  Table  15 
is  $5  per  week.  Record  on  hand  tells  of  a  girl  who  started 
for  $17  per  month,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  had  been  ad- 
vanced to  $20  per  month.  Twenty-five  dollars  per  month  is 
a  frequent  offer  to  coptometer,  billing  and  filing  clerks,  but 
$30  and  $35  are  also  met  with. 

TABLE    16. 

Cumulative    Number    and    Per    Cent,    of    Women    Employes    in    offices    (not    including 
Stenographers       in    Portland,    classified    by    weekly    earnings. 


to 

£ 

& 

ft 

s 

2 

fc 

u 

V 

w 

w 

»3 

A 

•o 

•o 

*o 

•S 

• 

O 

C 

C 

c 

p; 

E 

M 

D 

D 

•3 

p 

o 

Number          

3 

16 

23 

48 

59 

67 

126 

Per   Cent  

2.3 

12.5 

18.0 

37.7 

46.4 

53.6 

100 

Stenographers,  it  may  be  noted.  Table  17,  start  out  at  as 
low  a  figure  as  do  the  billers,  filers  and  cashiers,  who  may  ob- 
tain a  position  without  a  business  course  training,  but  stenog- 
raphers advance  more  quickly  and  at.  a  higher  rate  of  pay. 
Cumulative  Table  16  shows  that  out  of  126  general  office  em- 
ployes 59,  or  nearly  one-half,  are  earning  under  $10;  67  slightly 
more  than  one-half,  are  earning  over  $10.  Ta;ble  18  shows 
that  out  of  85  stenographers,  19,  or  less  than  one-fourth,  are 
earning  under  $10;  66,  or  nearly  three-fourths,  are  earning 
over  $10  per  week.  Below  $10  per  week  and  above  $10  per 
week  is  made  the  point  of  comparison  in  this  line  of  work,  as 
in  all  others,  but  on  account  of  the  higher  standard  of  living 
which  an  office  employe  must  maintain  to  hold  her  position, 
it  is  a  question  as  to  whether  the  living  wage  for  those  in  this 
line  of  work  should  not  be  more  than  $10  per  week. 

TABLE    17. 

Weekly    Wage    Schedules    of    Women    Workers    in    Portland. 
Stenographers.      85    Women    Employes. 


3* 

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V 

*! 

tsw 

4 

8« 

^W 

£»  c 

3 

ss 

:i 
s§ 

3W- 
.0  ^ 

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a*  c 

P 

IS 

o  v 

S*o 

~§ 

+•2 

J3** 

al 
*§ 

J* 

s'l 

•*§ 

I 

V 

(5 

Totals 

Number 

l 

2 

5 

1  4 

1       7 

4 

17 

|       39 

1       6 

85 

Per    Cent  

l.l 

2.3 

5.8 

'4.6 

1   8.1 

4.6 

19.8 

|    45.6 

'|   7.0 

100 

TABLE  18. 

Cumulative  Number  and  Per  Cent,  of  85  Women   Stenographers  in  Portland  classified 

by  weekly  earnings. 


& 

£» 

S 

& 

0 

«» 

o 
«» 

A 

| 
I 

| 

•o 
c 

LI 

6 
•c 
c 

V 

t3 
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V 

"O 

X 

1 

e 

p 

D 

D 

D 

O 

Number    

I 

3   | 

8 

12 

19 

66 

85 

Per  Cent  

1.1 

3.5   | 

9.3 

14.0 

22.4 

72.5 

100 

38  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

Firms  which  offer  a  low  beginning  wage  are  the  smaller 
law  and  real  estate  offices,  some  physicions,  specialized  retail 
stores  and  large  corporations  which,  though  they  pay  maxi- 
mum wages,  also  offer  the  very  minimum,  and  wholesale 
houses,  not  manufacturers.  Classification  of  business  houses 
according  to  the  line  of  work,  for  salaries  paid  office  help,  is 
difficult,  because  the  wage  frequently  depends  on  the  character 
of  the  head  of  the  firm,  and  not  on  the  nature  of  the  work. 
Among  the  small  law  'a;nd  real  estate  firms,  where  $30  and  $35 
a  month  is  a  common  beginning  wage,  employers  say  that 
the  work  is  so  light  that  the  girl  does  not  earn  more.  Because 
of  the  low  wage  they  offer,  they  are  willing  to  take  students 
fresh  from  business  colleges,  and  give  them  more  time  and  pa- 
tience than  they  would  if  the  applicant  were  experienced.  Fre- 
quently she  is  given  permission  to  take  in  outside  work.  An 
income  so  earned  is  uncertain  and  variable. 

Maximum  Wages. 

Some  firms  adopt  a  maximum  wage  and  refuse  to  go 
higher,  regardless  of  the  ability  of  the  applicant.  "Start  at  $40, 
raise  to  $45,  the  most  we  will  pay.  If  you  want  to  earn  more, 
don't  come  here,"  was  the  statement  of  the  manager  of  a  retail 
firm  carrying  a  special  line  of  goods,  recognized  as  the  best  of 
its  class  in  the  city.  Others  adopt  a  bullying  attitude,  which 
is  very  effective,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  timid  girl  away 
from  home.  One  ambitious  girl,  who  is  able  to  hold  a  good 
position,  and  will  not  be  content  with  less  than  she  can  earn, 
was  heard  to  say,  "So-and-so  has  worked  for  that  firm  (whole- 
sale hardware)  for  three  years,  and  she  is  getting  only  $50. 
She  is  a  hard  worker,  too,  but  she  is  scared  to  death  of  that 
man,  scared  to  ask  for  a  raise,  and  scared  to  leave.  Th^y  treat 
the  girls  too  mean  for  'anything." 

Other  employers  declare  that  efficient  help  is  scarce  ;  that 
they  would  gladly  advance  a  young  woman  to  a  good  position 
and  good  wages  if  they  could  get  one  who  would  take  an  inte- 
rest in  the  business.  This  is  very  often  true,  but  it  is  also 
true  that  employers  themselves  are  partially  reponsible  for  the 
inefficients  filling  their  stenographic  positions  today. 

An  average  maximum  for  general  office  work  is  $50  a 
month.  Five  out  of  126  young  women  in  Portland,  or  l-25th, 
are  receiving  over  $20  a  week.  The  average  maximum  for 
stenographers  and  bookkeepers  is  $65  or  $70  a  month.  Those 
who  receive  more  than  $20  a  week  are  out  of  the  ordinary 
in  their  line  of  work,  or  combine  with  it  private,  secretarial  or 
confidential  clerk's  ability. 

Hours. 

Eightv-eight  persons  from  the  total  211  office  workers  re- 
ported on  hours  of  work.  Sixteen,  or  not  quite  one-fifth,  work 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  39 

less  than  eight  per  clay.  Twenty-eight,  or  nearly  one-third, 
work  between  eight  and  nine  hours  ;  thirty-nine,  or  nearly  one- 
half,  between  nine  and  ten  hours.  Five  girls  record  working 
overtime.  Single  firms  are  usually  considerate  about  overtime 
pay,  at  least  in  the  form  of  lunch  money. 

Unemployment. 

In  offices,  work  has  none  of  the  irregularity  of  mercantile 
and  manufacturing  establishments.  The  summer  vacation  and 
post-holiday  seasons  are  recognized  as  the  time  when  changes 
are  likely  to  be  made.  In  the  coast  cities,  however,  first-class 
stenographers  from  the  East  find  it  difficult  to  get  work,  and 
the  supply  is  usually  greater  than  the  demand. 

Outside  of  Portland. — Wages. 

Forty-five  women  doing  general  office  work  throughout  the 
state  averaged  $35.50  a  month.  Sixteen  stenographers  aver- 
age $50  a  month,  which  indicates  that  the  wage  schedule  is 
practically  the  same  as  Portland's.  The  situation  is  a  little  bet- 
ter in  those  sections  of  the  state  where  the  cost  of  living  is 
lower  than  it  is  in  Portland. 

Moving  Picture  Show  Cashiers. 

The  cashiers  of  the  moving  picture  shows,  who  have  been 
classified  with  office  help,  call  for  special  mention  o>n  account 
of  their  hours  of  work.  This  industry  escapes  the  restrictions 
of  the  Female  Labor  Law,  because  it  cannot  be  classed  as  a 
"manufacturing,  mechanical  or  mercantile  industry."  Hence 
cashiers  often  work  over  ten  hours  a  day  for  seven  days  a 
week.  Hours  of  work  range  from  11  A.  M.  till  IIP.  M.  One 
girl  stated  that  this  was  an  advantage  for  her,  because  she 
could  not  afiford  three  meals  a  day  and  by  staying  in  bed  in 
the  morning  she  was  not  likely  to  miss  her  breakfast.  The 
wage  offers  little  compensation.  The  lowest  wage  reported 
was  $6  a  week.  The  highest  was  $12.  Of  14  women  inter- 
viewed, 13  were  receiving  under  $10  a  week. 

PRINTING  TRADES. 
Wages. 

Portland  has  42  printing  shops,  all  of  which  recognize  the 
union.  Sixty-five  women  earn  their  living  in  these  shops, 
binding  pamphlets  and  books.  When  the  union  was  estab- 
lished," a  minimum  wage  of  $6  a  week  was  asked  for  each 
apprentice.  The  ruleS  existing  now  are  that  she  may  be  kept 
at  this  wage  for  six  months,  when,  if  proficient,  she  is  to  be 
advanced  to  $6.50  per  week.  At  the  end  of  the  year  she  will 
receive  a  further  advance  of  50c  per  week.  If  she  is  a  slow 
girl,  the  employer  may  keep  her  at  $6  per  week  for  a  year, 
when  he  is  'required  to  pay  her  $7,  if  he  expects  to  retain 


40 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


her.  At  the  end  of  two  years  she  is  earning  $8,  and  at  the 
end  of  three  years  must  be  paid  $9  a  week.  This  is  as 
far  as  the  union  demands  go  in  regard  to  wages.  While  an 
apprentice,  a  worker  is  employed  chiefly  at  pamphlet  binding. 
Blankbook  work — considered  skilled — is  the  aim  of  'all  girls. 

Maximum  Wages. 

After  several  more  years  of  service,  a  woman  may  reach 
the  sum  of  $10  per  week,  but  this  is  the  maximum  for  a  great 
majority.  Length  of  service,  which  should  count  for  some- 
thing, helps  not  at  all  in  increasing  wages, — so  say  the  work- 
ers. Bookbinding  is  one  of  the  trades  at  which  women  work 
for  many  years,  many  leaving  it  only  to  get  married.  Fre- 
quently they  return  to  it  later  in  life.  In  the  printing-  trade 
in  Portland,  embracing  typists,  copy-readers  and  bookbinders, 
Table  20  shows  that  of  57  investigated,  32  are  earning  under 
$10,  nine  are  earning  over*  $12.  The  remaining  16  are  earn- 
ing between  $10  and  $12.  Of  these  16  two  women  are  earning 
$11  per  week,  who  have  been  at  the  trade  for  11  years.  Of  the 
nine  earning  between  $12  and  $20,  six  are  typists,  three  are 
foreladies  earning  $12,  $13  and  $15  a  week.  No  bookbinder, 
though  she  stayed  at  the  trade  18  years,  was  ever  known  to 
earn  over  $15  per  week. 

TABLE    19. 

Weekly  Wage  Schedules  of  Women  Workers  in  Portland. 
Printing  Trades.      57  Women  Employes. 


*£ 

3** 

*a 

0 

*2 

s2 

Sg 

w 

*| 

•°fc 

•0    U 
V 

V 

u 

o  w 

<SJ     *• 

VD    W 

$ 

o 

S  'O 

""O 

g* 

**§ 

e»  j- 

<»c 

**§ 

*^   3 

«»s 

«^§ 

11 

4 

14 

1       3 

1      16 

ie 

IA 

57 

Per     Cent  

|    19.2 

7.0 

24.5 

|   5.2 

|   28.0 

8.7 

7.0 

100 

Hours — Overtime. 

Besides  a  minimum  apprentice  wage,  another  advantage  that 
the  union  has  secured  is  the  8-hour  day.  The  busy  season  be- 
gins in  August  and,  reaches  its  height  before  the  Christmas 
holidays.  There  is  very  little  overtime,  but  this  is  paid  for  by 
time-and-a-half  rates.  No  vacation  with  pay  is  ever  given.  If 
an  employe  cares  to  take  a  vacation  during  the  quiet  season, 
she  is  permitted  to  do  so. 

TABLE    20. 

Cumulative    Number   and    Per    Cent,    of    57   Women    Employes   in   the   Printing   Trades 
in     Portland,     classified    according    to    weekly    earnings. 


^ 

M 

S 

o 

0 

u 

TJ 

is 

"B 

V 

0) 

«» 

S3 

1 

C 

B 

P 

P 

0 

Number 

1          U 

15 

1       29 

132 

25 

57 

Per    Cent  

|    19.2 

26.3 

1    50.8 

56.1 

43.8 

100 

Social  Welfare  Survey. 


41 


TELEPHONE  COMPANIES. 
Wages. 

Telephone  operating,  like  bookbinding,  has  a  decided  ap- 
prenticeship. "$1  a  day  paid  while  learning"  is  the  advertise- 
ment of  the  company.  Beginners  are  instructed  from  charts, 
typewritten  instructions,  and  by  means  of  dummy  switch- 
boards for  four  weeks  before  they  are  started  to  work  at  a 

TABLE    21. 

Weekly   Wage    Schedule   of   Women   Workers   in    Portland. 
Telephone    Operators.      52    Women    Employes. 


•» 


Number     . 
Per    Cent. 


9    |       5 
17.2    I    9.6 


71       5    |       11    |      10 
13.4   I   9.6   |   21.1    |    19.2 


5 
9.6 


52 
100 


"live"  board.  For  six  weeks  they  are  considered  useless,  and 
only  after  four  months  are  they  able  to  handle  the  board 
without  criticism.  After  four  months  the  beginner's  wage  is 
increased  lOc  per  day ;  if  she  wishes,  she  may  work  ten  hours, 
and  earn  more  that  way.  Table  21  shows  in  detail  the  weekly 
wage  of  52  of  the  operators.  Table  22  shows  that  of  these 
52,  just  one-half  are  earning  under  $10  per  week,  and  one-half 
$10  or  over. 

TABLE    22. 

Cumulative    Number   and   Per   Cent,   of   52   Women   Telephone    Operators   in   Portland 
classified  by  weekly  earnings. 


£ 

& 

ft 

0 

0 

. 

y 

w 

•o 

G 

c 

T3 

C 

V 

•o 

k 

0 

53 

S3 

& 

o 

g 

14 

21 

26 

26 

52 

Per   Cent  

17.2 

26.8 

|0.3 

50. 

50. 

100 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  the  maximum  wage  for  operators 
varies  between  $1.80  and  $2.00  a  day.  Beginners  are  usually 
given  the  "broken  shifts,"  but  in  order  to  induce  older  em- 
ployees to  take  these  unpopular  shifts,  15c  to  30c  per  day  ad- 
ditional was  offered  to  them  for  doing  it.  Operators  seldom 
rise  above  $2.00  a  day  on  regular  pay.  Supervisors  are  paid 
$2.25  to  $2.50  per  day.  Clerical!  employes  are  paid  $50  to  $55 
per  month.  If  supervisors  lose  a  day,  they  are  docked ;  clerical 
help  is  not.  Salaries  of  single  positions,  such  as  toll  operators, 
school  principal  and  other  better  paid  workers,  were  not  ob- 
tained. 

Hours. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  inaugurated  an  eight- 
hour  day,  broken  at  intervals  of  two  hours  by  15-minute  rest 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


periods.  In  another  part  of  this  report  (Conditions  of  Labor), 
is  given  a  physician's  opinion  as  to  limit  of  hours  for  telephone 
work. 

Operators  work  in  three  shifts;  one  comes  on  at  4  P.  M. 
and  works  till  10  P.  M.  Second  shift  comes  at  10  P.  M.,  works 
till  6  A.  M.  The  third  shift,  which  comes  on  at  this  last  hour, 
begins  the  "  broken  shift",  which  means  that  the  operators  are 
on  duty  for  a  few  hours,  when  they  are  lafid  off  till  late  after- 
noon or  early  evening  work.  The  understanding  exists  to  the 
effects  that  "old"  girls  shall  have  the  privilege  of  "straight 
time."  Mention  was  made  above  of  the  increased  wage  as  an 
inducement  to  more  experienced  girls  to  take  "broken  shift" 
work.  In  small  offices,  the  girls  have  a  six-day  relief,  but  in 
those  carrying  mainy  subscribers,  a  15-day  relief. 

Unemployment. 

One  arrangement  the  Portland  branch  has  made  which  is 
to  be  highly  commended  is  that  of  paying  an  employe  who  has 
been  with  the  Company  for  a  certain  length  of  time  wages  for 
three  months,  if  she  should  be  ill  that  long.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  girl  who  may  miss  work  for  a  day  or  two  through  ill- 
ness is  permitted  to  work  1Q  hours  -ai  day  until  she  has  made  up 
lost  time  ;  thus  she  avoids  being  "docked."  Vacations  are 
taken  without  pay. 

Welfare  Work. 

The  Company  has  provided  an  excellent  lunch-room,  with 
matron  in  charge,  where  a  substantial  warm  lunch  is  served  at 
cost  to  the  employes.  Rest  rooms  are  provided  where  opera- 
tors may  lie  down  or  read  .during  the  rest  period  or  when  off 
duty. 

Outside  of  Portland.  —  Wages. 

Beginning  wages  outside  of  Portland  are  lower  than  in 
this  city.  Returns  from  33  girls  in  five  different  towns  show 
the  minimum  wage  to  be  $20  a  month,  the  maximum  $43.65, 
the  average  $33.07. 

HOTELS  AND  RESTAURANTS. 

Chambermaids  and  Waitresses. 

Wages. 

Hotels  and  Restaurants  stand  third  highest  on  the  list  of 
industries  for  paying  a  large  percentage  of  employes  a  living 
wage.  This  is  because  chambermaids  frequently  are  given 
a  room  where  they  work,  and  waitresses  board  free  of  charge. 
The  lowest  wage  reported  for  a  chambermaid  is  $6  a  week. 
For  $25  a  month,  not  including  her  room,  a  chambermaid  is 
required  to  do  30  rooms  and  the  halls.  Amount  of  work  for 
wage  varies  here,  as  in  all  trades,  depending  upon  the  nature 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


43 


of  the  employer.     Some  men  consider  25  rooms  and  halls  a 
good   day's   work;   others   pay   less   and    insist   on   35   rooms. 

TABLE    23. 
Hotels  and  Restaurants.     213  Women  Employes. 


3 


«» 


**** 


- 

•» 


Number      I        1 

Per    Cent I   .46 


8 

3.7 


19 
8.9 


74 
34.7 


100 
46.9 


.46 


213 
100 


Maximum  wages  for  chambermaids  amount  to  $12  per  week. 
When  this  wage  is  paid,  the  woman  receiving  it  is  in  charge 
of  the  linen  closet  or  may  exercise  some  of  the  duties  of  a 
housekeeper.  $10  a  week  is  a  more  frequent  "high"  wage. 
To  earn  this,  a  woman  must  be  very  quick,  very  clean,  and 
of  long  experience.  Chambermaids  make  a  small  amount 
from  tips,  but  not  nearly  as  much  as  waitresses.  Waitresses 
do  not  work  for  less  than  $6  a  week  as  a  beginning  wage.  $8 
with  board  is  an  average  wage  ;  $12  and  $15  a  week  is  met  with, 
but  again  it  is  in  the  case  of  a  woman  who  is  head  waitress. 
Tips  vary  in  amount  with  the  personality  of  the  girl.  No 
place  was  found  in  Portland  where  they  are  forbidden.  One 
firm  combining  restaurant  service  and  the  selling  of  creamery 
products  pays  all  its  waitresses  at  least  $9  a  week  and  gives 
them  their  meals.  Exceptions  to  this  are  a  couple  of  girls 
who  work  short  hours  at  their  own  request. 

Hours. 

Chambermaids  in  many  cases  have  an  8-'hour  day.  Work 
starts  at  7  or  7:30  a.  m.,  and  is  usually  finished  by  3  p.  m. 
As  restaurants  are  open  till  midnight,  two  shifts  of  workers 
are  needed.  Hours  range  from  6  a.  m.  to  4  p.  m.,  and  from 
4  p.  m.  to  midnight.  Both  lines  of  work  are  popular  with 
women ;  hotel  work  because  the  work  is  through  in  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon ;  restaurant  work  because  women  are  con- 
tinually meeting  new  people.  Both  lines  of  work  are  hard, 
the  latter  sometimes  injuriously  so  on  account  of  carrying 
the  heavy  trays. 

TABLE    24. 

Cumulative    Number   and   Per    Cent,    of   Women   Workers   in   Hotels   and   Restaurants 
classified    by   weekly   earnings. 


£ 

K 

«*• 

& 

3 

0 

«» 

0 

I 

1 

Lt 
V 

T3 

•a 

5 

« 

C 

C 

C 

c 

C 

t> 

S3 

13 

D 

£ 

O 

1 

9 

12 

31 

105 

108 

Per     Cent  

.46 

4.2 

5.6 

14.5 

49.2 

50.8 

Table  24  shows  that  of  213  girls  interviewed,  105  are  re- 
ceiving under  $10;  108  are  receiving  $10  or  over. 


44  Social  Welfare  Survey. 


MISCELLANEOUS  TRADES. 

Wages.     Hours. 

Hairdressers. 

Girls  desiring  to  learn  this  trade  have  two  opportunities 
open  to  them.  They  may  work  for  four  months  without  pay, 
as  apprentices,  or  they  may  pay  $25  to  learn  the  trade,  spend- 
ing six  weeks  at  it,  and  have  the  promise  of  a  position 
at  $7  per  week  at  the  end  of  that  time.  Girls  serving  without 
pay  are  kept  at  cleaning  and  preparing  combings  for  switches 
the  larger  part  of  the  time.  The  hair  is  in  all  stages  of  mussi- 
ness,  and  handling  it  is  very  disagreeable  work.  Apprentices 
are  paid  $6  per  week.  Gradually  they  learn  to  give  shampoos, 
manicures  and  to  dre'ss  hair.  Girls  who  have  worked  at  this 
trade  say  there  is  no  reason  at  all  for  being  kept  three  or  four 
months  on  combings  for  switches,  as  the  work  is  absolutely 
unskilled  and  one  knows  how  to  do  it  after  a  few  days.  The 
most  experienced  girls  earn  $15  per  week.  Many  who  are 
proficient  cannot  get  more  than  $10.  Department  stores 
insist  on  experience  and  start  girls  at  $6  per  week  unless  they 
are  able  to  handle  hairdressing  as  well  as  manicuring.  Girls 
who  work  up  a  trade  independently  make  good  money.  The 
hours  for  those  employed  in  the  shops  vary  between  nine 
and  ten  per  day. 

Janitress  Work. 

This  is  a  line  of  work  that  is  laborious  from  its  very  na- 
ture. It  is  exhausting  also  because  of  the  night  hours  and  the 
broken  days.  The  wages  range  from  $7  to  $10  per  week.  The 
hours  are  difficult  to  state.  Some  women  come  at  6  o'clock 
in  the  evening  and  work  until  9  or  10  o'clock,  or  until  mid- 
night. Those  working  only  three  or  four  hours  in  the  evening 
must  come  back  early  in  the  morning. 

Dressmaking. 

The  investigation  did  not  concern  itself  with  women  who 
sew  by  the  day  in  families.  A  woman  who  is  a  plain  sewer 
only,  can  earn  $2  a  day  with  at  least  two  meals.  Reports  were 
sought  from  fitters  and  sewers  in  department  stores  and  pri- 
vate shops.  $7  and  $8  per  week  are  the  regular  wages  for 
beginners  who  know  how  to  sew;  $10  per  week  is  the  wage 
received  by  the  majority,  but  first-class  fitters  and  fancy 
waist-makers  receive  $12  and  $15  per  week.  In  shops  where 
only  tailoring  is  done,  th'e  tailor-owner  doe's  the  fitting  himself. 
Hours  vary  between  9  and  10  per  day.  Most  dressmaking 
s'hops  that  make  fancy  gowns  for  women  close  for  one  month, 
in  some  cases  two  months  each  year. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  45 

Millinery. 

The  lowest  wage  recorded  durkg  the  investigation  is  that 
of  a  millinery  apprentice  receiving  $1.50  per  week,  and  her 
schedule  had  the  note,  "In  slack  time  I  am  laid  off/'  Pros- 
pects in  the  wholesale  houses  are  not  very  bright ;  $4  per  week 
is  a  stock  girl's  wage ;  $6  per  week  is  a  frequent  wage  for 
makers.  Trimmers  reach  $10.  A  peculiarity  in  the  wholesale 
millinery  work  is  that  every  fall,  milliners  flock  from  ^mall 
towns  to  the  larger  cities  and  work  for  a  week  or  two  in  the 
wholesale  houses  to  learn  the  styles.  Calls  come  in  from  shops 
all  over  the  state  for  new  workers.  This  affords  the  girl  out 
of  work,  or  the  one  who  may  want  to  change  her  position,  a 
chance  to  hear  of  an  opening.  This  renders  conditions  very 
difficult  for  the  girl  who  works  in  a  wholesale  house  the  year 
through,  as  an  abundance  of  help  in  the  rush  season  keeps 
her  wage  continually  low.  Smaller  shops  pay  trimmers  and 
makers  from  $10  to  $15  per  week.  Unemployment  in  this 
trade  for  a  large  share  of  the  workers  amounts  to  at  least 
two  months  a  year. 

Cleaning  and  Dyeing. 

This  line  of  work  might  be  classed  by  some  with  regular 
laundry  work,  but  it  is  given  separate  notice  here  because 
the  conditions  under  which  the  work  is  done  are  better,  and 
the  wage  is  frequently  higher.  Pressers  receive  from  $9  per 
week  to  $16  per  week;  $12  is  a  more  frequent  wage.  There 
is  some  danger  to  the  health  of  the  workers  in  the  room  where 
the  cleaning  processes  are  carried  on.  Hours  vary  between 
8  and  9  a  day. 

Table  25  shows  that  of  39  girls  interviewed,  19  are  re- 
ceiving less  than  $10  per  week;  20  are  receiving  over  $10. 

TABLE  25. 

MISCELLANEOUS   TRADES. 
Weekly    Wage    Schedules    of   Women   Workers    in    Portland. 

OCCUPATION. — Demonstrators,   Hair  Dressers,   Cleaning  and  Dyeing,   Millinery  and 
Dressmaking,   Janitress. 

«!  C*  «•§  »•§  *!  «-s  «|  o|  sl.i-l   | 
~g  •»§!«»§ [•»§  •»§  *»§  ~§  a§  ~gj~§ 

Number     |      1    |      1    |  |      2   |      3    |      5    |      7    |      9   \      9   \      2   \      39 


46  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

CONDITIONS   OF   LABOR 

Factories. — Light  and  Air. 

Fault  can  not  be  found  with  many  of  the  larger  plants 
on  the  score  of  lack  of  window  space.  Smaller  establishments, 
such  as  tailoring  shops,  furriers,  and  millinery  stores,  are 
often  located  on  one  or  two  floors  in  downtown  shops,  which 
have  a  front  facing  of  not  more  than  twenty  feet  in  width ;  in 
the  rear  the  windows  open  onto  a  court,  or  there  may  be  no 
windows  at  all.  The  front  half  of  the  shop  is  used  for  show 
and  salesrooms,  the  rear  half  curtained  or  partitioned  off  for 
a  workroom.  The  latter  is  usually  so  dark  that  artificial 
light  is  needed  all  the  time.  Very  little  fresh  air  can  come 
in  from  the  rear,  and  practically  none  from  the  front  room, 
which  is  aired  by  the  coming  and  going  of  the  customers. 
Frequently  the  toilet  is  placed  in  the  workroom  without  even 
a  curtain  protecting  it.  In  such  cases  it  invariably  ventilates 
into  the  workroom.  In  one  instance,  in  a  high-priced  milli- 
nery shop,  the  girls  complained  a  great  deal.  The  health 
officer  had  been  there,  but  nothing  was  done  to  remedy  the 
condition  until  one  of  the  girls  came  down  with  scarlet  lever. 
Then  the  toilet  was  enclosed,  and  other  precautions  were 
taken.  In  another  rear  workroom  one  of  the  employes  had 
to  sit  with  her  back  against  a  "shoe  box"  toilet  door.  This 
girl  frequently  had  "fainting  fits."  In  this  same  place,  a 
cracked  sink,  which  the  owner  had  attempted  to  patch  up 
with  plaster  of  paris,  allowed  the  water  to  drip  on  the  floor. 
For  many  months  one  of  the  workers,  on  account  of  the  loca- 
tion of  her  work  table,  had  to  stand  on  this  wet  spot,  where 
the  water  drained.  Eventually,  she  had  to  give  up  her  work 
on  account  of  ill  health  and  went  to  the  country  to  recover. 
In  the  same  place,  until  this  spring,  the  employes  drank  from 
a  galvanized  pail  with  a  wooden  cover. 

Other  firms  of  this  class,  such  as  tailors  and  milliners, 
sometimes  have  the  entire  floor  for  show  and  fitting  rooms, 
and  use  a  balcony  for  a  workroom.  As  this  is  usually  built  in  at 
the  front  of  the  store,  the  light  is  very  good  <and  the  air  also 
when  the  transoms  are  built  to  be  opened ;  but  they  are  very 
congested  as  workrooms,  and  crowd  the  workers  up  against 
one  another.  Sometimes  the  ceilings  are  so  low  that  a  girl  can 
scarcely  stand  up  straight  in  the  workroom. 

Lack  of  Heat. 

A  question  which  is  most  important  during  the  winter 
months  is  that  of  heat.  In  some  factories  no  heat  at  all  is 
provided,  or  tiny  wood  stoves  supply  inadequate  heat.  What 
the  effect  of  sitting  in  a  cold  workroom  for  ten  hours  a  day, 
perhaps  after  she  has  walked  from  home  in  the  rain  for  lack 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  47 

of  carfare,  -  -  what  effect  this  has  immediately  on  a  young 
woman's  work  and  on  her  health  for  the  long  future  Is  too 
evident  to  need  further  words. 

Conditions  Affecting  the  Efficiency  of  the  Worker. 

Along  with  the  question  of  sufficient  space  in  which  to 
work,  good  light  and  fresh  air  to  keep  her  'alert,  and  a 
reasonably  warm  workroom,  comes  the  question  concerning 
the  nature  of  the  work  itself  and  its  effect  on  the  efficiency 
of  the  worker.  Several  conditions  may  affect  the  thorough- 
ness and  rapidity  of  a  worker.  First,  she  may  work  where 
the  heat  from  stoves  or  machines  is  far  beyond  what  the 
human  frame  is  designed  to  meet.  Second,  she  may  have  to 
handle  materials  that  give  off  nauseating,  acid,  or  other  over- 
powering odors,  or  much  dust  and  dirt.  Third,  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  workroom  may  be  such  that  she  has  to  spend 
valuable  time  collecting  materials  for  work,  .when  a  little 
forethought  on  the  part  of  the  manager  would  make  her  earn- 
ing ability  a  few  cents  greater. 

Laundries. — Too  Great  Heat. 

Laundries  probably  demand  the  most  from  the  workers 
on  this  score.  It  does  not  matter  whether  an  employe  is 
engaged  in  the  handling  of  hot  clothes,  or  managing  the 
mangier  or  body  ironer ;  she  works  in  an  overheated  and  fre- 
quently steam-laden  atmosphere.  The  washing  machines  on 
the  first  floor,  and  all  the  rooms  above  suffer  in  consequence. 
Sometimes  the  boards  of  the  floor  are  too  hot  for  comfortable 
standing.  Besides  the  discomfort  of  the  heat,  the  work  is  very 
laborious,  and  9l/2  hours  at  it  demand  more  energy  than  can 
be  regained  in  the  same  length  of  time  of  rest.  In  summer- 
time, conditions  are  particularly  terrific.  In  one  laundry, 
where  the  temperature  sometimes  reached  135  degrees,  six 
girls  fainted  at  work  within  three  weeks.  One  was  in  bed 
several  days  as  a  result.  The  usual  custom  is  to  take  the 
girls  out  of  doors,  leave  them  there  until  they  revive,  when 
they  come  back  to  work.  Some  laundries  have  fans  which 
help  to  keep  the  air  in  circulation,  and  some  have  awnings, 
but  one  or  two.  have  neither,  and  the  managers  refuse  to  add 
them.  Even  those  which  have  the  fans  have  not,  in  many 
cases,  a  sufficient  number.  Most  of  the  work  has  to  be  done 
standing.  The  women  complain  that  its  hardships  would  not 
be  as  great  if  a  large  enough  force  of  workers  was  maintained ; 
that  lack  of  a  larger  force  is  due  to  deliberate  refusal  on  the 
part  of  managers  to  hire  sufficient  help.  As  a  general  rule, 
laundrymen  are  unable  to  hire  the  number  of  workers  they 
need,  but  men  who  refuse  awnings  or  fans  when  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  workroom  is  135  degrees  are  capable  of  keeping 
too  few  workers  and  of  driving  the  ones  on  hand  to  the  utmost. 


48  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

That  laundry  workers,  as  a  class,  are  known  by  their  haggard 
faces  and  dragging  bodies  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

Among  the  30  power  laundries  in  Portland  mention  is 
gladly  made  of  3  that  can  be  put  on  a  "white  list"  in  recogni- 
tion of  the  managers'  efforts  to  have  clean  up-to-date  arrange- 
ments and  to  make  conditions  as  tolerable  as  possible  for  em- 
ployees. Such  men  deplore  the  hardships  of  the  work  and 
state  that  they  will  gladly  co-operate  with  any  movement  that 
aims  to  better  conditions. 

Candy  and  Biscuit  Factories. 

Candy  and  biscuit  factories  have  the  same  problem  of 
work  associated  with  constant  heat,  but  to  not  nearly  so 
disastrous  a  degree  as  the  laundries.  Here,  again,  the  ovens 
and  candy  pots  are  sometimes  on  the  lower  floors,  and  send 
their  volumes  of  heat  through  all  the  other  workrooms.  Some- 
times the  vats  are  on  an  upper  or  top  floor,  and  then  the  gen- 
eral body  of  workers  do  not  suffer  as  much.  French  cream 
dippers  work  over  a  kettle  which  sets  in  a  steam  table,  in 
which  the  water  is  always  kept  hot.  Chocolate  dippers  heat 
their  chocolate  slabs  on  a  hot  marble  plate.  Air  in  these 
rooms  is  frequently  foul.  Sometimes  a  foreman  claims  that 
the  workers  may  have  all  the  fresh  air  they  wish  but  keep 
the  windows  closed  of  their  own  accord.  The  workers  say 
that  fresh  air,  as  they  get  it,  means  cold  air,  which  means 
the  ruin  of  their  work.  What  is  needed  is  a  proper  ventilating 
device. 

Nauseating  and  Other  Odors. 

Match  Factories. — The  use  of  white  phosphorus  in  match- 
making has  recently  been  forbidden  by  law,  but  there  are  still 
unpleasant  phases  in  the  industry.  In  one  factory  visited, 
two  women  in  a  basement  workroom  were  tipping  matches 
in  a  sulphur-laden  atmosphere.  A  Chinaman  was  tending  a 
pot  of  sulphur  on  a  stove  nearby.  The  investigator  could 
scarcely  endure  the  fumes,  and  asked  the  foreman  why  the 
windows  were  all  closed.  He  said  that  the  women  were  re- 
sponsible, since  they  wished  it  so.  The  women  were  asked  the 
same  question,  and  answered  that  they  could  not  have  the 
windows  open,  as  the  sulphur  would  be  cooled  and  they  could 
not  tip  the  matches.  Yet  for  want  of  a  simple  ventilating  de- 
vice, they  are  permitted  to  work  until  their  health  prematurely 
fails,,  and  they  are  cast  on  society  to  be  cared  for. 

Can  Factories. — In  can  factories  a  room  known  as  the 
japan  room  is  another  disease  breeder.  In  one  factory,  of  two 
girls  who  formerly  worked  in  this  room,  one  died  of  tubercu- 
losis, the  other  gave  up  her  position  recently  because  she  has 
it.  The  testimony  of  the  girls  that  the  fumes  in  the  japan  room 
affect  their  health  is  borne  out  by  testimony  of  the  Federal  Re- 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  49 

port,  Vol.  V.  (Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child 
Wage  Earners  in  the  United  States. — Women  in  Department 
Stores  and  Factories,  etc.)  :  Fresh  air,  when  it  means  un- 
warmed  air,  cannot  be  admitted  for  the  reason  given  in  two 
previous  cases. 

Paper  Box  Factories. — In  paper  box  factories,  certain 
kinds  of  hand-pasting  require  the  workers  to  have  a  fresh  sup- 
ply of  warmed,  thin  glue  on  hand.  The  long  work  tables 
have  three  iron  pots,  each  divided  into  two  even  sections,  and 
set  into  the  table;  one  in  the  middle,  and  one  at  each  end. 
A  gas  flame  is  kept  burning  under  them  all  the  time  they 
are  in  use.  In  one  half  of  the  pot  are  the  glue  flakes  with  a 
little  water.  This  melts  into  the  thick,  liquid  glue,  which  is 
used  to  replenish  the  other  section  of  thinner  glue,  kept  by 
the  girl  at  the  right  consistency  for  her  work.  From  the  pot 
is  rising  constantly  a  nauseating,  warm,  fish-glue  odor.  "How 
do  you  stand  it?"  was  asked  an  older  worker  by  an  appren- 
tice. Shrugging  her  shoulders,  the  other  answered,  "Oh.  you 
get  used  to  it ;  it  made  me  sick  at  first."  They  get  used  to  it, 
as  the  bent  twig  does  by  growing  into  a  crooked  three.  They 
get  used  to  it,  as  did  one  worker  of  four  years'  experience, 
who  had  to  stop  eventually  for  six  months  on  account  of 
stomach  trouble.  She  is  the  daughter  of  a  widowed  mother, 
and  is  assisting  in  the  support  of  two  young  sisters.  She 
could  scarcely  afford  to  be  ill. 

Meat  Packing. — Meat  packers,  as  is  well  known,  make 
many  by-products  out  of  what  would  be  waste  material.  One 
of  these  is  glue.  In  the  room  where  the  glue  vats  are  and 
women  work,  the  stench  is  unbearable,  yet  they  eat  their 
lunches  there.  Similar  conditions  exist  in  the  sausage  room, 
where  women  work  also.  Even  a  foreman,  who  is  an  em- 
ploye of  several  years'  standing,  said  casually  that  the  glue 
room  was  one  to  which  he  had  never  been  able  to  get  ac- 
customed. 

Laundries. — Markers  of  soiled  clothes  in  laundries  com- 
plain of  two  hardships  in  their  work.  First  they  are  com- 
pelled to  stand  all  day,  bending  their  bodies  as  they  pick  the 
clothes  from  the  piles  at  their  feet  and  ink  the  laundry  mark 
on  them.  "Broken"  backs  and  swollen  feet  for  the  first  three 
months  are  the  result.  The  second  hardship  is  the  nausea 
caused  by  the  odors  coming  from  clothes  in  every  degree  and 
kind  of  dirt.  One  girl,  a  stenographer,  recently  from  the  East, 
but  greatly  in  need  of  work,  applied  at  the  laundry,  and  be- 
cause of  her  training,  was  put  at  marking.  "I  stood  it  for 
two  hours,"  she  said ;  "how  they  stand  it  all  the  time,  I  don't 
know.  The  girl  next  to  me  said  that  she  suffered  much  on 
account  of  her  back  and  feet  at  first,  but  now  she  is  used  to 
it,  —  and  those  dirty  clothes !  —  the  smell  is  awful !" 


50  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

Following  are  further  notes  taken  from  the  reports  of 
investigators : 

Factory  1. — The  room  where  the  girls  worked  was  heated 
with  one  tiny  stove.  The  window  could  not  be  opened  be- 
cause the  room  would  be  too  cold.  They  have  to  inhale  the 
odor  of  strong  tobacco,  which  is  very  nauseating.  While  I 
worked  there,  several  girls  came  to  apply  for  work,  but  left 
when  they  saw  the  condition  of  the  workroom,  which  was  very 
dirty,  and  had  no  place  in  it  for  the  gorls  to  sit  down  while 
working.  The  girls  are  paid  5  cents  per  pound  for  stripping 
the  stem  out  of  the  tobacco  leaf;  as  tobacco  is  very  light,  it 
takes  a  great  quantity  to  make  a  pound,  and  by  working  just 
as  hard  as  they  possibly  can,  they  cannot  expect  to  strip 
more  than  4  pounds  in  a  day — a  wage  of  20  cents  to  25  cents 
per  day.  Some  beginners  manage  to  make  45  cents  a  day, 
but  working  up  to  a  better  wrage  is  very  slow  work. 

Factory  2. — Material  used  here  very  oily.  Smell  of 
leather  noticeable  but  not  nauseating.  No  windows  open. 
General  effect  of  place  was  rough.  No  place  for  a  girl ;  too 
dirty. 

Factory  3. — Only  one  sink  here  and  that  not  clean.  Much 
bespattered  with  glue.  At  closing  time,  girls  required  to 
clean  their  machines,  but  first  heated  the  water  in  pails  on 
a  wood-stove  in  an  adjoining  room.  Small  dressing  room, 
where  girls  change  from  street  garb  to  working  clothes.  This 
filthy  and  ill-smelling,  partially  due  to  untidiness  of  girls 
themselves.  Toilet  here  very  dirty  and  apparently  never 
clean.  Unlike  others,  however,  it  did  not  open  into  the  work- 
room. Workroom  on  second  floor,  reached  by  dark,  screened 
stairways. 

Factory  4. — Owner  a  poor  manager ;  doesn't  keep  up 
material  to  work  with,  so  workmen  have  to  be  on  duty  from 
19  to  24  hours  without  sleep,  then  are  laid  off  for  a  couple 
of  days  for  want  of  material.  There  has  been  no  toilet  for 
women,  but  superintendent  is  putting  one  in  now. 

As  I  walked  up  two  flights  of  stairs,  I  noticed  the  thick 
dust  in  the  air  from  feathers  and  found  it  very  smothering. 
Men's  section  so  full  of  dust,  I  could  not  see  across  the  room. 
Women's  section  not  so  bad,  but  still  far  from  good.  Room 
where  men  worked  heated  by  a  stove;  did  not  see  any  in 
women's  workroom. 

Poor  Arrangements  Diminish  Earning  Capacity. 

Besides  the  foregoing  physical  hindrances  to  the  develop- 
ment of  continued  efficient  workers,  there  are  obstacles  of 
arrangement  which  waste  time  for  them  and  count  up  seri- 
ously when  employes  are  working  on  piece  rates.  In  one 
paper  box  factory  the  women  and  girls  bring  their  own  ma- 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  51 


terials  from  the  stock  and  remove  the  finished  product.  This 
means  that  though  paid  10  cents  per  100  for  making  boxes, 
pasting  labels,  "lacing"  boxes,  covering  them,  etc.,  they  put 
in  time  as  messenger  or  supply  boy,  for  which  they  receive 
nothing.  This  would  not  call  for  complaint  if  it  meant  a 
very  little  loss  of  time,  but  it  does  not.  In  one  case,  one  kind 
of  material  was  kept  in  a  corner  of  the  room  obstructed  by 
a  belt  on  a  staying  machine.  To  get  to  the  stock,  the  worker 
had  to  pass  under  this  moving  belt,  dangerously  low.  Time 
was  lost  in  avoiding  it.  For  the  same  kind  of  work  other 
materials  were  in  another  room.  Disposition  of  these  boxes 
was  simple,  as  they  were  thrown  into  a  barrel.  Labelled 
boxes,  ready  for  lidding,  had  to  be  piled  tier  upon  tier  on  the 
work  table  and  carried  away.  The  more  tiers  a  worker  could 
carry,  the  more  time  she  saved,  but  because  the  boxes  were 
very  light,  there  was  danger,  with  a  big  pile  of  tiers,  of  having 
the  whole  pile  come  tumbling  down.  Then  they  must  all  be 
picked  up  and  replied.  Even  experienced  workers,  who  were 
supposed  to  have  acquired  the  knack  of  piling  securely  and 
carrying  away  safely,  lost  time  when  through  some  slight 
jerking  of  the  body,  the  whole  load  tumbled  down.  In  much 
of  the  simple  pasting,  hot  water  is  needed  all  the  time  to  keep 
brushes,  glue  boards  and  tables  clean,  label  cloths  damp,  etc. 
In  one  factory,  the  sinks  are  equipped  only  with  cold  water 
faucets.  The  method  of  obtaining  the  necessary  warm  water 
is  this :  a  three-gallon  pail  is  half  filled  with  cold  water  drawn 
from  the  faucet  over  one  sink  in  a  dark  corner  of  the  room ; 
this  is  carried  into  the  adjoining  box-cutting  room,  between 
machines  and  over  a  floor  littered  with  pasteboard  and  papers. 
Progress  is  necessarily  a  little  slow.  Attached  to  one  wall 
of  the  room  is  one  of  the  filthiest  sinks  imaginable.  It  is 
matched  only  by  the  sink  from  which  the  water  was  drawn. 
Coming  up  from  behind  this  second  sink  in  the  cutting  room 
is  a  steam  pipe  about  four  feet  high,  which  turns  down  into 
a  horseshoe  shape.  A  steam  jet  is  on  top  of  the  bend.  To 
get  "warmed"  water,  the  girls  must  hang  their  pails  on  this 
steam  jet,  which  is  hotter  than  the  hands  can  bear,  turn 
on  the  steam  and  let  it  roar  into  the  cold  water  until  it  is 
sufficiently  hot.  Meanwhile  the  girl,  especially  if  she  is  a 
small  one^,  meets  with  several  difficulties.  She  must  lift  the 
pail  and  hang  it  on  the  steam  wheel,  but  she  must  avoid 
hitting  the  turned  down  portion  of  the  pipe;  she  might  spill 
some  water,  and  as  the  sink  below  is  already  filled  to  the 
brimming  point  and  covered  with  a  thick  scum  of  glue,  addi- 
tional water  would  mean  a  disastrous  overflow.  Yet  the 
steam-pipe  is  too  hot  to  touch  and  she  likes  to  be  careful 
not  to  burn  her  hands.  When  the  steam  is  turned  on,  it  rushes 
into  the  water  with  such  an  ominous  boiling  sound  that  a 
new  girl  fears  for  the  outcome.  With  the  condensed  steam, 


52  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

the  pail  is  heavier  to  lift  over  the  steam  wheel  and  down 
than  it  was  to  lift  up,  but  after  at  least  five  minutes  wasted 
in  this  fashion,  she  can  go  back  to  her  work  with  the  neces- 
sary hot  water.  This  process  may  have  to  be  gone  through 
three  or  four  times  a  day  in  certain  kinds  of  work.  The  sinks 
on  the  other  floors  were  not  as  dirty  as  on  this  one,  but  no- 
where in  sight  was  there  a  hot  water  faucet,  and  how  to  draw 
steam  from  some  of  the  other  pipes  seemed  to  be  even  a 
deeper  problem. 

Decreased  Earnings  in  the  Canneries  on  Account  of  Materials. 

In  the  canneries,  women  and  older  girls  complained  that 
children  under  twelve  and  thirteen,  employed  here  in  open 
violation  of  the  law,  were  shown  the  preference  in  the  giving 
out  of  the  fruit.  The  children  were  given  the  most  perfect 
fruit,  which  meant  less  handling  in  sorting  and  picking,  and 
therefore,  quicker  money,  though  the  older  women  needed 
their  wages  badly. 

Sanitary  Plumbing  in  Factories. 

Office  buildings,  department  stores  and  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  best  equipped,  as  regards  washrooms  and 
toilets.  These  are  given  space  apart  from  the  main  workroom. 
In  factories  and  laundries,  however,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  women's  toilet  is  built  in  the  workroom  proper  and  stands 
projected  like  a  long  shoe  box  six  feet  high  on  end,  and  un- 
covered. It  ventilates,  therefore,  right  into  the  workroom. 
In  some  instances,  the  interiors  were  clean,  in  others  filthy. 
The  crudest  arrangement  found  for  women  was  in  a  factory 
on  the  river  front,  where  the  river  washes  up  under  the  floors 
of  the  building.  Here  the  toilet  is  nothing  more  than  a  seat 
built  over  the  river,  which  does  the  scavenging.  If  it  sweeps 
up  and  out,  well  and  good ;  if  it  is  quiet,  the  unpleasant  odor 
hovering  around  that  part  of  the  building  is  only  a  little  more 
noticeable.  Sinks  in  some  places  are  also  disreputable.  In 
one  factory  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  wodden  trough.  Here 
lately  the  girls  have  been  given  individual  hand-basins  In 
another  place,  that  where  the  steam-pipe  heats  the  cold  water, 
one  sink  with  the  cold  water  faucet  hung  in  a  corner  between 
the  toilet  and  the  wall.  This  corner,  about  6  by  6  feet,  un- 
curtained, served  as  a  dressing  room  for  the  girls,  who  changed 
their  dresses  morning  and  evening.  It  was  too  dark  to  dis- 
tinguish objects  without  the  aid  of  a  small  electric  bulb,  which 
was  nearly  always  turned  off.  When  the  investigator  started 
to  work  'one  morning,  the  sink,  undrained,  was  half  full  of 
water.  At  five-thirty  that  evening  it  was  running  over,  and 
the  girls  who  kept  their  hats  and  clothes  in  the  corner  were 
paddling  around  in  the  water,  trying  to  be  ready  to  leave 
when  the  last  whistle  would  blow.  A  dirty  roller  bath  towel 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  53 

hung  next  to  the  sink,  but  no  soap  was  provided.  Girls  who 
have  not  brought  cups  from  home,  put  their  mouths  to  the 
faucet  for  a  drink.  The  sink  overflowed  because  the  girls 
washed  glue,  as  best  they  could,  from  their  hands  with  cold 
water,  and  emptied  their  pails  of  steam-warmed  water,  vvhich 
carried  a  quantity  of  glue,  after  brushes,  boards  and  tables 
had  been  washed.  The  result  was  inevitable.  Sinks  into 
which  a  quantity  of  glue  is  poured  each  day  can  not  easily  be 
kept  drained,  but  such  drainage  is  possible  and  necessary.  A 
janitor's  service  might  be  called  for  as  well  as  better  plumbing. 
Here,  as  in  other  factories,  the  girls  are  required,  and  rightly 
so,  to  keep  their  work  tables  clean,  but  in  the  fifteen  minutes 
given  at  the  end  of  the  day  for  glue-scraping,  etc.,  they  are 
required  to  sweep  the  workroom  floors.  There  seems  to  be 
no  system  about  this.  An  "old"  girl  may  call  to  a  younger 
girl  to  do  it,  and  in  some  haphazard  fashion,  the  younger  girl 
gets  it  done.  Not  all  girls  in  dirty  work  places  would  keep 
them  clean  if  they  were  given  them  clean.  There  are  women 
workers  who  are  naturally  shiftless  and  untidy,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  an  employer's  duty  to  do  his  share  to  maintain 
a  higher  standard  of  neatness,  a'nd  not  assist  in  further  de- 
moralization of  his  employes.  Filthy,  untidy  workshops  breed 
contempt  for  the  management  and  the  work. 

Fire  Escapes. 

The  Oregon  law  calls  for  adequate  fire  escapes  on  build- 
ings used  for  industrial  purposes.  It  has  not  prevented  dark 
stairways  in  buildings  from  being  completely  enclosed.  One 
such  is' a  staircase  that  forms  an  "L"  at  the  bottom.  On  a 
bright,  sunshiny  morning  and  at  noon,  the  staircase  was  so 
dark  that  goinsr  up  or  coming  down,  one  had  to  feel  her  way. 
At  noontime,  the  smalt  electric  bulb  hanging  part  way  down 
could  not  be  turned  on,  and  a  crowd  of  girls  stumbled  their 
way  out. 

A  needless  exposure  to  danger  is  in  the  heaps  of  paper 
cuttings  which  cover  the  floors  in  some  of  the  workrooms 
in  certain  lines  of  work.  Lack  of  janitor  service  is  probably 
the  reason  why  floors  are  completely  littered  and  unswept 
for  three  days  at  a  time.  To  drop  a  lighted  match  in  one  of 
these  places  would  mean  instant  conflagration. 

Here  it  is  proper  to  draw  an  observation  concerning  the 
effect  of  power  machine  work  on  the  general  health  of  women 
workers.  "The  noise  is  terrific,"  "the  noise  from  the  machines 
was  so  loud  that  we  could  not  attempt  to  make  ourselves 
heard,"  are  remarks  appearing  again  and  again  in  the  investi- 
gators' reports.  Clothing  factories  and  woolen  mills  take  the 
lead  here,  but  there  are  few' factories  which  do ^  not  carry 
machinery  of  one  kind  or  another.  When  investigators  ex- 
claimed to  a  foreman  as  to  the  evil  effects  of  the  noise  of  the 


54  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

machines,  the  latter  said  that  at  lunch  time,  when  the  ma- 
chinery is  shut  down,  the  girls  miss  its  whirr  and  are  anx- 
ious to  have  it  start  up  again.  He,  too,  did  not  feel  natural 
when  it  was  not  going.  Apropos  of  this  subject,  Josephine 
Goldmark,  in  her  late  work  on  *  ''Fatigue  and  Efficiency,"  says : 
"In  both  the  needle  and  textile  trades,  which  we  have  taken 
as  types  of  work  involving  speed  and  complexity,  fatigue  is 
the  more  quickly  induced  by  other  attendant  influences  which 
are  common  to  most  machine  work.  One  of  these  fatiguing 
influences  is  the  noise  of  machinery.  The  fatiguing  effect  of 
the  roar  of  shock  is  chiefly  due  to  its  influence  upon  the  facul- 
ty of  attention.  Mental  fatigue  is  characterized  pre-eminently 
by  a  weakening  of  the  powers  of  attention.  .  .  .  There  is  in  at- 
tention a  sensation  of  effort,  and  fatigue  of  attention  is  in  di- 
rect proportion  to  the  continuance  of  the  efforts  and  the  dif- 
ficulty of  sustaining  them.  Now  under  the  influence  of  loud 
noise,  attention  is  distracted,  and  the  difficulty  of  sustaining  it 
is  increased.  Thus  it  (noise)  necessitates  a  greater  exertion 
of  intensity  or  conscious  application,  thereby  hastening  the 
onset  of  fatigue  of  the  attention.  A  quite  uncounted  strain 
upon  this  easily  fatigued  faculty  results  among  industrial 
workers  such  as  girl  machine  operators,  when  the  deafening, 
intermittent  roar  of  highly  speeded  machinery  adds  it  quota 
to  the  tax  of  a  long  day's  work.  The  roar  is  not  even  con- 
tinuous enough  to  sink  into  monotony.  With  each  stoppage 
and  starting  of  the  machine,  it  blurts  out  regularly. 

"The  subject  of  noise  in  industrial  establishments  is 
usually  dismissed  with  the  remark  that  the  workers  'get  used 
to  it/  and  doubtless  in  many  occupations,  the  workers  them- 
selves are  scarcely  or  not  at  all  conscious  of  any  increased 
application  on  their  part  due  to  noise*.  But  in  the  main,  the 
process  of  getting  used  to  it  involves  precisely  that  increased 
intensity  of  nervous  effort.  ...  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
most  favorable  for  the  approach  of  exhaustion.  .  .  .  Another 
subtly  fatiguing  element  in  machine  work  is  due  to  its  rhythm. 
It  is.  apparent  that  the  rhythm  of  any  power-driven  machinery 
is  fixed  and  mechanical,  depending  upon  its  construction  and 
its  rate  of  speed.  Now,  it  is  true  also  that  human  beings  tend 
to  work  rhythmically,  and  when  the  individual's  ^  natural 
swing  or  rhythmic  tendency  must  be  wholly  subordinated  to 
the  machine's  more  rapid'  mechanical  rhythm,  fatigue  is  likely 
to  ensue.  .  .  .  The  machine  sets  the  tempo,  the  worker  must 
keep  to  it. 

Not  only  is  the  beat  of  the  machine  much  more  rapid 
and  regular  than  the  more  elastic  human  rhythms;  it  is  often 
wholly  lost  in  the  chaos  of  different  rhythms  of  the  various 
machines,  belts  and  pulleys  in  one  workroom.  The  roar  and 

*   Fatigue   and   Efficiency,   Chap.    Ill,   p.   68.     The  New   Strain   in   Industry. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  55 

vibration   of   machinery   tends   further   to   distract   any   sense 
of  rhythm  on  the  part  of  the  workers." 

TELEPHONE  OPERATORS. 

Another  industry  employing  a  large  number  of  girls  noted 
for  the  nervous  strain  it  causes  is  the  telephone  system.  To 
the  credit  of  the  Telephone  Company  it  can  be  said  that  in 
Portland  the  operating  rooms  are  well  lighted  and  well  ven- 
tilated. A  rest  and  reading  room  is  provided  for  the  use  of 
the  girls  while  off  duty,  and  a  hot,  well-cooked  lunch  is  of- 
fered at  cost  price.  In  smaller  towns,  arrangements  are  not 
always  adequate. 

The  disadvantages  of  the  work  are  its  constant  demand 
for  the  keen  use  of  eye,  ear  and  arms,  and  particularly  the 
long  'hours. 

The  nature  of  the  work  is  the  same  the  world  over.  On 
entering  the  exchange  room,  the  first  arrangement  noticed 
is  something  that  looks  like  a  blackboard  screening  three 
.sides  of  a  long  room,  marked  with  alternate  rows  of  small 
white  glass  lamp  plates  and  black  holes,  the  latter  of  which 
are  all  numbered. 

The  operator  is  aware  of  a  call  by  the  flash  of  the  signal 
lamp  and  the  click  of  the  lifted  receiver  in  her  ear.  She  "con- 
nects up"  by  inserting  one  of  a  pair  of  brass  plugs  into  the 
hole  beneath  the  lamp,  releases  her  "listening"  key,  a  lever 
on  the  shelf  in  front  of  her,  and  at  the  same  time  speaks  "Oper- 
ator" or  "Number,  please,"  into  her  transmitter.  While  she  is 
receiving  the  call,  she  has  reached  for  a  plug  attached  to  a 
cord,  corresponding  in  color  to  the  one  in  use,  and  as  soon  as 
the  number  is  plain  to  her,  she  inserts  this  plug  into  the  hole 
the  number  of  which  corresponds  to  that  called  for,  and  estab- 
lishes the  connection  between  the  subscribers.  Immediately 
the  second  subscriber's  lamp  flashes  and  continues  to  glow  as 
first  caller's  is  doing,  until  the  conversation  is  ended,  when 
botl^  go  out.  The  operator,  watching  for  this,  pulls  down  the 
cords,  which  fall  back  into  their  respective  holes. 

Rut  while  one  conversation  is  in  progress,  she  may  have 
answered  a  dozen  similar  calls,  and  the  switchboard  is  a  tan- 
ele  of  green  and  red  cords,  bewildering  to  the  uninitiated. 
The  hardship  of  the  work  lies  in  the  constant  attention  that 
must  be  kept  for  incoming  calls  and  for  deadened  lamps.  An 
incoming  call  means  concentration  of  energy  to  satisfy  the 
patron  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and  making  a  connection 
does  not  mean  simply  the  watching,  listening  and  reaching 
of  arms  to  insert  plugs. 

Added  to  the  nervous  strain,  the  operator  to  reach  holes 
on  either  side  of  her  freq-uently  has  to  rise  to  her  feet,  balanc- 
ing herself  on  a  round  of  her  chair  and  stretch  over  'her  com- 
panion operator  to  reach  the  necessary  subscriber.  This  looks 
like  a  difficult,  straining  task. 


56  Socail  Welfare  Survey. 

The  physical  effects  of  the  work  were  brought  out  strong- 
ly in  Toronto,  when  a  dispute  arose  between  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company  of  that  city  and  the  operators,  concerning 
the  hours  of  employment.  The  testimony  of  physicians 
called  by  the  Royal  Commission  to  settle  the  difficulty  de- 
clare that  four  or  five  hours  work  broken  by  a  rest  period  of 
one  and  a  half  hours  should  be  the  maximum. 

The  following  is  quoted  from  Elizabeth  Beardsley  But- 
ler's "Women  and  the  Trades,"  Chap.  19,  p.  289,  in  which 
she  quotes  from  the  findings  of  the  Royal  Commission  in 
Toronto : 

"Dr.  Robert  Dwyer's  testimony  in  part  was  as  follows : 

"I  find  the  service  intense  all  the  time.  The  telephone  com- 
pany nor  the  doctors  who  see  the  operators  do  not  see  the 
final  result ;  after  these  girls  have  gone  on  for  four  or  five 
years  and  served  the  company  and  they  get  married  or  for 
other  purposes  leave,  then  they  turn  out  badly  in  their  do- 
mestic relations.  They  break  down  nervously  and  have  nerv- 
ous children,  aid  it  is  a  loss  to  the  community.' '; 

In  order  to  work  the  operators  up  to  the  highest  degree 
of  speed,  a  record  is  kept  at  the  different  offices,  of  the  aver- 
age length  of  time  it  takes  the  operators  in  the  exchanges 
of  the  cities  of  Oregon  and  Washington  to  make  a  connection. 
This  record  is  posted  and  the  attention  of  the  girls  called  to  it. 
While  increase  in  efficiency  is  a  commendable  thing,  this  sys- 
tem probably  works  toward  increasing  the  intensity  of  the 
nervous  strain  upon  the  operator,  who  constantly  feels  that 
she  must  further  exert  herself  to  come  up  to  a  standard. 

Conclusion. 

The  conclusion  we  wish  to  draw  from  this  description  of 
the  conditions  of  labor  in  Portland  is  that  not  wages  alone, 
which  are  insufficient  to  give  the  worker  a  full  nourishing 
meal  three  times  a  day,  and  call  for  close,  unhealthful  sleep- 
ing quarters ;  not  hours  alone  whidh  strain  her  to  a  point  of 
exhaustion  to  finish  the  day's  demands ;  but  these  two,  com- 
bined with  unsanitary,  dirty  and  distasteful  conditions  under 
which  girls  work,  are  responsible  for  much  of  the  inefficiency, 
sickness  and  degeneracy  that  is  found  among  women  wage- 
earners. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  57 

COST  OF   LIVING 

Room  and  Board. 

Investigators'  Testimony. 

In  gathering  facts  as  to  the  cost  of  living  in  this  state, 
the  director  prepared  schedules  calling  for  yearly  estimates 
as  to  the  cost  of  house  or  room-rent,  food,  clothing,  carfare, 
laundry  bills,  doctor  bills  (including  dentistry),  church  dues, 
lodge  dues,  education  and  recreation  including  vacation.  Two 
other  questions  asked  in  connection  with  wages,  but  which 
threw  light  on  the  Cost  of  Living  results,  were  whether  the 
worker  was  living  at  home  and  whether  she  received  a  vaca- 
tion with  pay.  From  509  schedules  received  from  Portland, 
the  investigator  has  become  convinced  that  $10  per  week  is 
the  minimum  on  which  a  self-supporting  young  woman  can 
maintain  herself  decently  and  in  health  in  this  city. 

Cost  of  Room-rent. 

The  estimates  of  the  girls  and  women  were  not  taken  as 
final ;  over  100  rooming  houses,  housekeeping  rooms  and  pri- 
vate families  offering  room  and  board  were  investigated.  The 
investigators  found  that  while  in  exceptional  instances  rooms 
can  be  secured  for  $8  a  month,  it  happens  to  be  with  a  woman 
who  wants  someone  for  companionship  or  to  assist  her  with 
a  couple  of  children  in  the  evening.  In  the  latter  case,  the 
cost  of  the  room  should  be  estimated  at  more  than  $8  a  month. 
Rooms  within  walking  distance  renting  for  $10  per  month 
are  usually  attic  rooms,  low  ceilinged,  poorly  papered,  or  not 
papered  at  all,  or  with  walls  covered  with  faded  burlap.  A 
stove  heats  the  room  and  often  the  girl  has  to  furnish  her 
own  wood.  It  is  hard  to  make  a  landlady  see  that  this  adds 
to  the  cost  of  the  room.  In  one  case  of  a  $10  room,  where 
the  necessity  of  furnishing  one's  wood  was  protested  against, 
the  housekeeper  explained :  "But  look  what  you  are  getting 
the  room  for!"  This  house  was  within  walking  distance;  the 
room  was  on  the  second  floor,  but  could  be  reached  only  by 
a  narrow  staircase  from  the  side  of  the  house.  The  room 
door  was  narrow  and  low ;  the  bath  and  toilet  were  located 
off  the  back  porch.  To  reach  them,  one  had  to  go  ^down 
stairs,  out  of  doors  and  around  to  tlie  rear.  A  bath  in  the 
winter  must  'be  a  chilly  undertaking  in  this  house.  This  room 
had  two  cots,  and  the  ladv  furnished  a  gas  plate  where  the 
girls  could  make  coffee.  It  was  on  the  housekeeping  order, 
but  could  not  be  put  in  that  class,  as  the  tenant  had  to  furnish 
dishes,  hardware,  silver  and  linen.  Rooms  at  $12  begin  to 
verge  on  the  comfortable  state,  but  one  must  pay  $14  or  $15 
a  month  to  get  accommodations  that  can  be  called  cosy  or 


58  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

pleasant,  and  by  these  the  writer  does  not  mean  running  hot 
and  cold  water  in  the  room.  Many  girls  take  a  roommate  and 
thus  reduce  their  cost  of  living  at  the  same  time  that  they 
reduce  their  opportunity  of  recuperation.  Sometimes  they 
room  three  together,  the  better  to  economize.  An  example  of 
this  is  that  of  three  girls  living  with  a  woman  in  a  small, 
crowded  flat.  The  three  girls  room  together  in  an  inside 
court  room  and  each  pays  $30  per  month  for  the  room,  break- 
fast and  dinner.  The  house  is  about  twenty  minutes  walking 
distance  from  town,  and  one  must  walk  uphill  to  reach  it. 

Below  in  Table  26  is  given  a  description  of  other  rooms 
investigated,  with  the  prices  asked.  The  addresses  were 
taken  from  the  daily  papers.  Certain  localities  in  the  city 
known  to  be  boarding  house  sections,  others  known  as  private 
residence  sections,  where  roomers  were  occasionally  taken  in, 
and  still  others  known  to  offer  more  homelike  accommoda- 
tions were  canvassed.  Rooms  outside  of  walking  distance 
are  expected  to  be  cheaper,  though  they  are  not  always  found 
so,  because  of  the  additional  cost  of  carfare. 

TABLE   26. 
A— ROOMS    ONLY. 

1 — 1   large  room,   good  ventilation,  $12  per  month. 

2 — 1    small    room,    no    heat,    no    carpet,    no    running   water,    $8    per    month ;    for    two 

girls,    $10    per    month. 
3 — 1    small   room,    1    small   window,    single   bed,    no    carpet,    $6   per    month;    no    heat, 

no    telephone. 

4 — 1   back   room,   heated   by  small   stove,   $8   per   month. 
5 — 1   large  room,  heated  by  stove,   no  running  water,   $16  per  month. 
6 — 1   large  room,  2  windows,   heated,  $14  per  month. 
7 — 1   large  room,   modern   conveniences,   $16   per  month. 
8 — 1   small   room,   modern   conveniences,   $12.50  per  month. 
9 — 1   large  room,   no  closets,   $16  per  month. 
10 — 1    small   room,    1    window,    $12.50    per  month. 

11 — 1   large  room,   modern   conveniences,    single  bed,    $7.50   per   month. 
12 — 1   small  room,  sinele  bed,   1   small  window,   no  heat,   $7.50  per  month. 
13 — 1    room,    second   floor,    very   pleasant,    well   furnished,    outlook    on    beautiful    yard. 

$15  per  month;   same  house,    1   room  in  attic,   3  windows  so  high  that  one  had 

to  stand  on  chair  to  look  into  yard,  bathroom  on  lower  floor,  $10  per  month. 
14 — 1  room  on  first  floor,  nicely  furnished,  but  had  to  go  through  kitchen  to  reach 

bathroom    off  back   porch;    gaslight. 
15 — Another    room,    same    place,    upstairs,    entrance    from    side    of   house,    high    narrow 

stairs,    small   narrow   door,    gable   room,    brick    chimney   passing   through    center 

of    floor,    cheap    wallpaoer,    double    cot,    stove    heat,    furnish    own    wood,    could 

have    gas-plate    for    coffee,    to    reach    bathroom    on    back    porch    one    has    to    go 

downstairs  and   out   of   doors;    $10   per  month. 
16 — 1    room    upstairs,    dark,    good    closet    space,    with    gas-plate    for    coffee,    $3.50    per 

week ;    without,    $3 ;    old    house,    narrow   porch. 

17 — 1    small   single   room,    crowded    with    bed,    chiffoniere,    trunk;    $10   per   month. 
18 — 1    single   room,    side    of  house,    not   bright,    good    closet;    $3.50    per   week.      Hou^e 

attractive   exteriorly. 

19 — 1    large   front   room  with  alcove,    $20   per  month   for   two  persons;    stove   heat. 
20 — 3    rooms,    $8   per    month. 
21 — 2    double   rooms,    $10    each   person. 

22 — Rooms  with  hot  and  cold  water,   $3.25   to   $5   per  week. 
23 — 1   room,  $14  per  month. 
24 — 5  rooms,   $5  per  week. 
25 — 1   room,   $14  per  month. 
26 — 5   rooms,   $5  per  week. 
27 — 1   room,   no  phone,   $8. 
28 — 1    room,    heated   by    oil    stove;    bath    and    electric    lights;    $8    per    month    for    one; 

$10   per   month   for   two. 

29 — 1    room,    modern   conveniences,    $10   per   month. 
30 — 1    room,    $14   per   month. 
31 — 1    room,    rather   cozy,    $12   per   month. 
32 — 1    room,    divided    from    hall    by    partition    three-fourths    way    up,    hot    water    heat, 

gaslight;    $10   per   month. 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  59 

33 — Rooms   $1    to   $3   per  week,    not   cozy  and   not   clean. 
34 — 1    large  room,    $10   per   month. 
35 — 1    room,    $3.75   per   week. 

B — HOUSEKEEPING   ROOMS. 

1 — 2-room    apartment,    $15. 
— 1   room  with  gas-plate,   $10. 
3 — 2    housekeeping    suites,    attic    rooms,    walls    covered    with    burlap,    electric    light, 

stove  heat,   $12;   smaller  suite,   $10. 
4 — 2    housekeeping   rooms,    1    downstairs,    $20;    room    upstairs,    $21;    neither   of   them 

worth    the    price. 
5 — Front    room,    curtains    brown    with    dust,    unattractive,    gas-plate    in    alcove,    $18; 

not   worth    it. 

6 — 2   rooms   with   public   bath,   $25;    electric   light   extra   charge. 

7 — Outside    apartments,    2    rooms,    $30 ;    inside    apartment    facing    untidy    house,    un- 
pleasant outlook,   $25. 

8 — Bedroom   and    kitchen,    $20;    gas    stove   for   heating,    pay   for    own   heat;    this   up- 
stairs.     Single   room   downstairs,   furnace   heat,    $10   for   one;    $12   for   two. 
9 — Small  room,   no   conveniences,   $7   per   month  for   one   girl;    $10  for  two. 
10 — Small   room,    rear,    1    window,    $7. 
11 — Front   room,    $10    per   month. 
12 — Rear  room,   no   conveniences,   $9   per  month. 
13 — Room,   modern   conveniences,   $4.50   per  week. 
14 — Large   room,   modern   conveniences,   $4   per  week. 
15 — Attic   room,   very  small,    1    small   window,   $2   per   week. 
16 — 1    small   room,   $9   per   month. 

17 — 1    room   downstairs,    modern   conveniences,    $12    per   month. 
18 — 1    room   with  bed,   large,   modern   conveniences,   $30   per  month. 
19 — 1   large  room,   modern   conveniences,   $16  per  month. 
20 — 1   small  room,   without  heat,   $2.50   per  week;    with  heat,   $3. 
21 — Housekeeping   room   in   basement,   large,   with   kitchenette   curtained   off,   have   to 

pay  for  own  heat   and   electric  light;    $20   per  month. 

J2 — 1   small  room  with  single  bed,   no  bath,  have  to  heat  water  on  stove  ;  $6. 
23 — 1    large   room,    1    window,    $12    per   month. 
24 — 3    rooms,    $14    per   month. 
25 — 1    room   with   kitchenette,   $15   per   month. 
26 —  2   rooms,   modern   conveniences;    $12   per   month. 

27 — 1   front   room,   modern   conveniences,   $12   per  month  for  one;   $14   for  two. 
28 — Housekeeping  room,   kitchenette,   single  bed,  room  heated  by  stove,   $20. 
29 — 1    small    room,    modern    conveniences,    kitchenette,    heated,    $20. 
30 — 1    large   room,    kitchenette,    1    large    closet,    20   per   month. 

C— BOARD    AND    ROOM — WEST    SIDE. 

1 — Attic   room,    1   small  window,   heated  evenings,    $28   per  month. 

2 — 1    small  room,   second  floor,   $30   per  month. 

3 — Regular   boarding   house,    cheapest   room   is   $35;    rates   up   to   $45   per   month. 

4 — Nice   room,    modern    conveniences,    $37.50    per    month. 

5 — Large    rooms,    modern    conveniences,    cheapest   $50    per    month. 

6 — Small   room,   not   heated,    small   windows,   $24   per   month. 

7 — Large   room,   heated,    $25   to   $30   per   month. 

8 — Large   room,    modern    conveniences,    $27.50    per   month. 

9 — Large   room,   modern   conveniences,   $27   per  month. 
10 — Modern    conveniences,    $40   to    $50    per   month. 
11 — Rooms  and  board,  $28  to  $35  per  month. 
12 — $40  to  $50  per  month. 
13— $8.50   per   week. 

14 — Modern    conveniences,    $9    per   week. 
15 — Small,   dark  room,   $7.50  per  week. 
16 — Modern   conveniences,   $25   per   month. 

17 — Large   sunny   room,   modern   conveniences,    $30   per   month. 
18 — Large   room,    3    windows,    modern    conveniences,    $30    per   month. 
19 — Modern   conveniences,   $29   per  month. 
20 — 1   large  room,  suitable  for  two,  $35  per  month. 
21 —  llarge  room,  modern  conveniences,  $30;   with  two  meals,  $35. 
22— Two  meals,   $25. 
23— Two    Meals,    $25. 
24 — $5   per  week. 

25 — $18;    second    month,    $16    (someone   for    company). 
26 — $25,   two  meals. 
27 — $25,   two   meals. 
28 — $30  per  month. 
29 — $30  per  month;  two  meals. 
30 — $35  per  month. 
31 — $25   per  month. 
32 — $25    per   month. 
33 — $26   per   mo-nth;    three  meals. 

34 — 1    upstairs    court    room,    three   meals,    $30 ;    1    room    downstairs    parlor    room    for 
two,   $60  per  month. 


60  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

SOUTH    PORTLAND. 

35 — 1    small   dark   room,   heated,    $7   per  week. 

36 — Small   dark,   dirty   room,   $7   per  week  for   one;    $25   per   month   for  two  peoole. 

37 — $4.50,  but  room  so  dirty,   poorly  ventilated    (1   small  window),   that  it  was  simply 

impossible   to   live   in   it. 

38 — 1    small   room,    no    conveniences,    $5    per   week. 
39 — 1    small    room,    $5   per  week. 
40 — Small   rooms,    $20    per   month. 

Rooms  and  Board. 

Exceptional  families  offer  room  and  board  for  $20  per 
month.  The  average  cost  for  three  meals  per  day  at  a  low 
estimate  is  $25  oer  month,  but  because  of  the  large  number 
who  demand  $30,  one  is  much  inclined  to  say  that  that  is 
nearer  the  average.  Two  cheap,  charitable  boarding  houses 
offer  room  and  board  at  $4,  and  from  $3.75  to  $5  per  week  re- 
spectively. Together  they  can  accommodate  about  eighty 
girls,  an  insignificant  percentage  of  those  covered  by  the  in- 
vestigation in  Portland. 

Housekeeping  Rooms. 

A  frequent  plan  of  living  is  that  of  a  housekeeping  system, 
where  the  rooms  are  made  to  differ  from  ordinary  sleeping 
rooms  by  the  addition  of  an  oilcloth-covered  table,  a  few  cheap 
cups,  saucers  and  plates,  linen,  hardware,  a  gas  plate,  and 
once  in  a  while  some  silver.  Sometimes  the  renter  is  required 
to  furnish  both  her  silver  and  hardware.  The  opportunity  to 
cook  her  own  meals  and  wash  her  own  dishes  may  help  to 
keep  the  domestic  feeling  alive  in  the  struggling  worker,  but 
it  does  not  help  her  to  keep  alive  the  physical  strength  and 
moral  courage  need'ed  for  persistency  in  this  same  struggle. 
The  addition  of  the  hardware  poorly  concealed  and  the  gas 
olate  only  make  the  room  more  hideous.  Rooms  were  visited 
by  the  investigators  renting  at  $16  and  $20  per  month  that 
cast  a  gloom  over  them  when  these  rooms  were  considered 
as  a  constant  habitation,  a  place  to  be  called  home.  And  in 
visiting  rooms,  the  investigators,  while  looking  for  what  an 
ordinarily  well  brought  up  zirl  would  require  in  neatness  and 
pleasantness,  kent  constantlv  in  mind  the  fact  that  most  gir.ls 
do  not  demand  velvet  rugs  and  mahogany  furniture  as  a 
standard  of  comfort,  so  in  no  case  was  a  room  condemned  for 
plain  furniture.  Rooms  mav  reasonably  be  objected  to,  how- 
ever, on  the  score  of  ragged  carpets,  dirty  or  torn  curtans,  lack 
of  sufficient  davlisfh^,  closet  space,  for  sagging  cots  or  un- 
comfortable-looking beds,  and  for  scratched,  marred  dressers 
that  tilted  and  wavered  for  lack  of  a  castor.  It  was  considered 
a  point  against  them  when  the  householders,  though  a  private 
family,  kept  men  as  well  as  women  roomers,  and  offered  a 
room  with  a  bath  and  toilet  on  the  floor  above  or  below. 

Expenditures  for  Room  and  Board. 

Facts  have<  been  auoted  to  show  that  the  least  sum  for 
which  most  wage-earning  women  can  obtain  decent  rooms  in 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  61 

Portland  is  $10  a  month.  The  lowest  for  which  room  and 
board  can  be  obtained  is  $25  a  month.  Table  27  shows  the 
average  expenditures,  of  the  girls  adrift,  for  room  and  board. 

TABLE  27. 

Average    Amount    Spent    on    Room    and    Board    Annually   by    181    Wage    Earning 
Women  in   Portland  living  Adrift,   classified  by  occupations. 

No.  Occupation.  Annual  Room  Rent.  Cost  of  Board.  Total. 

27  Laundry   $62.15  $168.00  $230.15 

18  Factory     73.77  131.73  205.50 

35  Department    Stores 118.00  196.25  314.25 

31  Office    128.89  179.51  308.40 

70  Miscellaneous    Group 121.04  152.34  273.38 

Laundry  Workers. 

Twenty-seven  laundry  workers  average  (Table  27)  $62.15 
per  year  for  room  rent,  or  slightly  more  than  $5  per  month. 
Board  costs  them  $14  per  month,  or  less  than  50  cents  per  day. 
It  is  impossible  to  harmonize  this  with  the  idea  of  comfort- 
able room  and  sufficient  food.  If  any  explanation  can  be  made 
for  the  sum,  it  is  that  many  laundry  women  adrift  live  near 
the  laundries,  which  often  are  in  very  undesirable  districts. 
Department  Store  Employes. 

Department  store  girls  adrift  rise  nearer  to  a  decent  stan- 
dard when  they  spend  $118  per  year,  or  nearly  $10  per  month 
for  room  rent.  Board  for  them  amounts  on  the  average  to 
$196.26,  or  $16.35  per  month,  which  is  54  cents  per  day.  This 
is  divided  between  toast  and  coffe  for  breakfast,  lOc ;  for  lunch, 
meat,  bread  and  tea,  15c;  or  salad,  desert  and  tea,  15c;  and 
for  dinner  whatever  they  can  manage  to  order  for  25  cents. 
Picture  these  menus  as  a  source  of  energy  for  ten  hours' 
work  in  a  factory  or  store,  and  two  or  three  more  hours'  work 
"at  home"  in  the  evening.  The  average  spent  for  one  month 
on  both  room  and  board  is  $26.18,  a  sum  which,  it  has  been 
shown,  will  cover  the  cost  of  room  and  board  when  bargained 
for  at  one  time.  But  as  accommodations  at  this  price  are 
usually  beyond  walking  distances,  many  girls  prefer  to  live 
nearer  in  and  save  carfare.  That  they  do  so  is  indicated  by 
Table  33,  which  shows  that  the  girl  at  home  spends  $31.20 
per  month,  or  10  cents  per  day  for  working  days  and  nothing 
for  extra  rides  on  Sundays  or  holidays,  while  the  girl  adrift 
spends  $23.42,  or  less  than  10  cents  per  day.  As  this  sum  is 
an  average,  it  means  that  some  girls  walk  every  day  to  and 
from  work,  spending  nothing  at  all,  while  others  ride  one  or 
both  ways. 

TABLE   33. 

Average     Sum     Spent     Annually    for     Carfare    by     509     Women    Wage     Earners, 
classified  by  occupations  and  on  basis  of  "at  home"   or  "adrift." 

Occupation.                            Average  Annual  Carfare — At  Home.  Adrift. 

Laundry     $  27.50  $  20.80 

Factory      28-96  28-50 

Department     Stores 

Office                                              31-22  25-28 

Miscellaneous  ' 33.36  24.13 


62  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

Office  Employes. 

Girls  in  offices  spend  more  for  room  rent  than  girls  in 
department  stores,  but  less  for  board.  Rooms  cost  them 
$10.75  per  month;  board  costs  nearly  $15.  Young  women  in 
these  two  classes  of  work  have  beem  mentioned  before  as  hav- 
ing practically  the  same  standards  of  living  and  the  same  re- 
quirements for  an  attractive  appearance.  Observations  on 
one  apply  to  the  other.  Carfarei  amounts  to  almost  the  same. 
Office  girls  living  at  home  spend  $31.22  a  year,  just  18  cents 
less  than  department  store  girls  living  at  home.  Office  girls 
adrift  spend  $25.28,  or  $1.74  per  month  more  than  department 
store  girls  adrift,  but  $6  per  month  less  than  office  girls  at 
home. 

Miscellaneous  Trades. 

As  those  under  this  heading  are  divided  between  the 
more  poorly  and  the  well-paid  trades,  the  average  spent  for 
room  and  board  indicates  a  good  standard,  $121.04  per  year 
for  room,  and  $152.34  for  board;  or,  $10  per  month  for  room 
and  $15  for  board.  Carfare  for  those  living  at  home  is  the 
highest  of  any  group,  $33.36  per  year.  For  those  adrift,  it 
ranks  next  to  the  office  employes,  or  $24.13  per  year  or  $2  per 
month,  which,  however,  does  not  permit  a  ride  to  and  from 
work  for  the  average  girl. 

Board  Without  Room. 

Meal  tickets  in  private  families  range  from  $5.25  per  week 
to  $5.95.  This  is  at  the  rate  of  25  cents  for  each  meal,  or  25 
cents  for  breakfast  and  lunch,  and  35  cents  for  dinner.  Many 
girls  who  are  rooming,  however,  confine  their  breakfast  to 
toast  and  coffee,  lOc;  lunch,  15c;  and  dinner,  15c;  but  somet- 
times  to  25  or  35  cents.  This  information,  apart  from  the' evi- 
dence of  the  schedules,  was  obtained  by  frequenting  restau- 
rants that  wage-earning  women  patronize,  and  watching  their 
menus  and  checks.  These  small  sums  would  not  be  possible 
as  limits  if  it  were  not  for  charitable  organizations  and  cafe- 
terias. 

Cost  of  Clothing. 

Cost  of  clothing  for  the  average  woman  working  outside 
of  her  home  would  amount  to  $125  or  $150  a  year.  This  is 
an  item  which  varies  noticeably  with  the  occupation.  Girls  in 
offices,  telephone  exchanges  and  department  stores  must  dress 
better  than  those  in  laundries  and  factories.  The  former  wear 
the  same  dresses  at  their  work  through  the  day,  while  the 
laundry  and  factory  employes  can  come  to  work  in  a  good  suit 
and  change  it,  on  arriving,  for  a  rough  working  dress.  This 
is  one  phase  of  the  problem  that  argues  strongly  for  a  com- 
mission which  can  regulate  the  minimum  wage  according  to 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  63 

the  demands  of  the  occupation.  Table  28  below  offers  op- 
portunity for  some  interesting  comments  on  the  variation  of 
cost  of  clothing  with  occupation.  In  three  out  of  five  classi- 
fications, including  laundries,  factories,  department  stores,  of- 
fices, and  miscellaneous  trades,  the  girl  living  at  home  spends 
more  for  her  clothes  than  the  girl  adrift.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the*  girl  at  home,  because  her  parents  furnish  her 
room  and  board,  can  afford  to  spend  more. 

TABLE  28. 

Average   Amount    Spent   annually   on   Clothing  by    509   Women   Wage   Earners  in 

Portland,  classified  by  occupation  and  as  to  living   "at  home"  or  "adrift." 

No.  Occupation.       Average  Annual  Expenxe — At  Home.  Adrift. 

36                     Laundry $158.00  $157.00 

100                     Factory    126.46  140.33 

116                     Department     Stores 161.36  139.63 

88                    Office    183.20  182.66 

169                    Miscellaneous  Group 138.10  143.52 

In  no  case  is  the  amount  stated  an  extravagant  one;  $183 
a  year  is  the  highest  sum  mentioned,  and  this  is  spent  by  office 
employes,  who  are  expected  to  dress  not  only  neatly,  but  in 
good  style.  The  office  girl  adrift  spends  $1  a  year  less,  show- 
ing that  however  she  may  economize  in  other  ways,  she  must 
appear  well  dressed.  Laundry  girls  at  home  and  adrift  spend 
practically  the  same — those  at  home  $158;  those  adrift  $157. 
That  their  cost  of  clothing  is  higher  than  the  factory  workers, 
whose  average  expenditure  by  the  girl  at  home  is  $126.46,  and 
for  the  girl  adrift,  $140.33,  though  the  two  classes  of  work  are 
ranked  the  same,  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  laun- 
dry work  means  much  greater  wear  and  tear  on  clothing  than 
factory  work,  which  while  often  very  dirty,  does  not  require 
as  much  moving  around  and  straining  of  garments.  Next  to 
the  office  girl,  for  expenditure  for  wearing  apparel,  ranks  the 
department  store  employe.  Those  living  at  home  spend  on 
an  average  of  $161.36  a  year;  those  a'drift,  $139.63,  or  $21.73 
less.  This  means  that  the  girl  living  at  home  may  not  have 
to  burden  herself  after  working  hours  by  making  her  own 
clothes.  Even  if  she  does,  and  spends  the  entire  $161.36  in  a 
larger  amount  of  apparel,  still  she  cannot  be  called  an  extrava- 
gant dresser.  In  the  case  of  the  factory  girls,  those  adrift 
spend  $140.33,  or  $13.87  a  year  more  than  the  girl  at  home. 
The  records  are  of  18  girls  adrift  and  82  at  home,  and  would 
tend  to  show  that  those  at  home  are  relied  upon  for  so  much 
support  that  what  they  are  able  to  spend  on  themselves  is 
below  the  minimum  required.  Living  at  home  they  are  able 
to  save  on  dressmaking.  The  group  called  "miscellaneous"  is 
made  up  of  waitresses,  chambermaids,  milliners  and  dress- 
makers, janitresses,  demonstrators  and  canvassers,  cleaners 
and  dyers,  hairdressers,  photographers,  bookbinders,  etc.  Mis- 
cellaneous schedules  number  169;  70  of  these  are  from  girls 
adrift,  99  from  girls  living  at  home.  Cost  of  clothing  for  the 
former  amounts  to  $143.52;  for  those  at  home,  $138.10.  The 


64 


Social  Welfare  Survey. 


reason  for  the  difference  here  is  the  same  as  that  given  for 
the  factory  girls.  When  a  certain  standard  of  good  appear- 
ance is  not  demanded,  the  girls  at  home  tend  to  economize 
below  the  minimum  on  wearing  apparel. 

The  minimum  average  spent  by  any  class  for  clothes  in 
Table  28  is  $126.46.  Some  schedules  reported  an  expenditure 
of  $50  a  year,  and  one  or  two  went  as  high  as  $300  a  year. 
In  order  to  ascertain  what  is  the  least  sum  that  a  self-support- 
ing woman  can  clothe  herself  for,  the  following  tables  have 
been  made  out.  Table  29  quotes  the  lowest  prices  at  which  any 
article  can  be  bought.  Table  30  shows  the  least  for  which  an 
article  that  has  good  wearing  qualities,  and  looks  well,  can 
be  bought,  and  states  what  it  should  cost  a  young  woman 
to  dress  decently  and  attractively.  Table  29  is  discarded  be- 
cause articles  bought  at  these  prices  often  look  shoddy  in 
the  beginning  and  wear  out  'twice  as  fast  as  a  more  expensive 
article. 


TABLE   29. 

1  winter     coat $15.00 

1   suit     18.00 

1  extra     skirt 5.00 

2  dark    waists 4.00 

4  white     waists 4.00 

2   dark    underskirts 2.00 

4  suits    summer    underwear..,  2.00 


3  suits  winter  underwear 

1  dozen    pair    stockings 

2  pair    corsets 

4  corset   covers 

li  dozen  cotton  handkerchiefs.. 
4  pair   gloves. . . 


3.00 
3.00 
3.00 
2.00 
.90 
4.00 

pair     shoes 10.00 

1  pair    rubbers 50 

1   Umbrella    1.00 

3  hats     6.00 

1  party     dress 10.00 

3  white    underskirts 4.50 

2  summer     dresses...  .    10.00 


$107.90 


TABLE   30. 

1   winter     coat $20.00 

1   work    suit 20.00 

1   extra    skirt 7.50 

1  "best     suit 25.00 

2  dark  work  waists 6.00 

2  dark   underskirts 3.00 

4  white     waists 10.00 

4  suits    summer    underwear 4.00 

3  suits    winter    underwear 6.00 

1  dozen    pair    stockings 6.00 

2  pair     corsets 5.00 

4  corset    covers 2.00 

li   dpz.   handkerchiefs 1.80 

pair    gloves 6.00 

pair  shoes 16.00 

pair     rubbers 75 

umbrella     1.00 

party    dress 15.00 

3  white    underskirts 6.00 

2  summer    dresses 10.00 

4  hats     .                                                 .  16.00 


$187.05 


Laundry. 


Table  31,  which  gives  expenditures  for  laundry,  offers 
further  opportunity  for  interesting  comparisons.  The  largest 
amount  spent  by  any  class  is  $24.28,  the  average  cost  a  year, 
or  $2.02  a  month,  the  average  cost  of  the  department  store 
employe.  The  smallest  amount  paid  out  is  the  average  of 
the  laundry  girl  adrift:  $7.85  a  year,  or  65  cents  a  month. 
Laundries  charge  from  25  cents  to  35  cents  for  a 
shirtwaist,  and  for  other  pieces  accordingly.  Two  white  shirt- 
waists a  week  are  the  least  that  a  young  woman  can  manage 
on  when  she  wears  this  style  of  dress.  These  alone  would 
amount  to  50  cents  a  week,  or  $2  a  month.  The  conclusion 
we  may  draw  is  that  most  girls  manage  to  wear  clothes  that 
do  not  need  frequent  laundering.  For  the  articles  that  have 
to  be  washed,  the  little  square,  which  has  served  as  kitchen, 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  65 

diningroom,  bedroom  and  parlor,  can  now  take  its  turn  serv- 
ing as  a  washroom.  Hence  it  is  that  if  a  girl  is  fortunate 
enough  to  live  where  electric  light  is  used,  and  still  more  for- 
tunate enough  to  possess  the  luxury  of  an  electric  iron,  she 
learns  that  several  newspapers  spread  under  a  sheet  on  the 
rug  make  a  tolerable  ironing  board.  The  work  must  be  done 
on  her  hands  and  knees,  but  the  good  pennies  saved  and  the 
pile  of  fresh  clothes  are  worth  the  effort.  Others  have  found 
that  windows  make  good  smoothers  if  handkerchiefs  are  put 
on  quite  wet,  rubbed  till  all  the  air  bubbles  are  gone  and 
left  over  night.  The  hems  may  be  shrunken,  but  on  the  whole, 
this  process  does  very  well  and  does  not  really  show  after  the 
handkerchief  is  crumpled  once  or  twice. 

TABLE  31. 

Average    Sum     Spent    Annually    for    Laundry    by    509    Wage    Earning    Women, 
classified   by   occupation  and   on   basis  of   "at  home"   or   "adrift." 

Occupation.                                                     Annual   Cost — At   Home.  Adrift. 

Laundry     $  12.00  $     7.85 

Factory     8.91  11.80 

Department     Store 24.28  1627 

Office    14.35  21.33 

Miscellaneous     23.25  21.48 

Doctor's  and  Dentist's  Bills. 

Amounts  both  for  the  girl  at  home  and  adrift  vary  but 
little  in  this  column.  One  reason  for  this  is  that  no  matter 
what  the  occupation  or  station,  if  one's  teeth  are  aching  and 
one's  organism  rebellious,  relief  must  be  sought  from  the 
proper  person.  The  highest  sum,  $37.50  a  year,  spent  by 
laundry  girls  adrift,  is  small.  The  chapter  on  Conditions  of 
Labor  showed  that  some  kinds  of  work  cause  nerve  strain 
and  other  ills  as  serious ;  the  investigation  showed  the  fact 
that  many  young  women  avoid  a  doctor's  care  because  of  the 
expense,  and  sometimes  because  they  know  that  it  will  mean 
an  order  to  stop  work — an  order  which  to  them  seems  impos- 
sible to  fulfill.  Medicines  and  eye-glasses  are  items  which 
must  not  be  forgotten  here.  Both  are  a  decided  expense,  but 
the  latter  often  means  a  repeated  one  on  account  of  breakage. 
The  physician's  care  which  other  girls  have  received  is  not 
indicated  in  the  "Doctor's  Bills"  table,  because-  many  physi- 
cians make  it  a  rule  not  to  charge  girls  who  are  struggling 
for  a  living.  The  same  can  be  said  of  dentists,  and  much 
credit  is  due  men  of  the  profession  for  their  silent  but  genuine- 
ly charitable  work. 

TABLE  32. 

Average   Amount   Spent   Annually   on   Doctor's   and   Dentist's   Bills  by   509   Wage 

Earning   Women   in   Portland,    classified  by   Occupation   and   as  to   living   "at  home" 
or  "adrift." 

No.                Occupation.     Average   Annual   Expense — At  Home.  Adrift. 

36                    Laundry    $  16.00  $  37.50 

100                    Factory     27.60  18.40 

116                    Department     Stores 29.23  23.82 

88  Offices      25.28 

169                    Miscellaneous     -     27.47  26.52 


66  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

It  may  be  to  the  point  to  mention  here  the  hospital  as- 
sociations which  some  firms  have  inaugurated.  In  one  firm 
membership  was  compulsory,  with  dues  of  $1  per  month.  Mem- 
bers were  compelled  to  consult  the  Association  doctor,  whose 
services  were  free  to  them ;  private  hospital  care  was  obtained 
for  them,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  $8  per  week,  sometimes 
free  of  charge.  Another  firm  has  a  space  in  its  application 
blank  where  applicants  are  asked  to  state  whether  they  are 
willing  to  join  the  association.  Applicants  for  work  are  not 
likely  to  refuse  anything  within  reason,  accession  to  which 
will  get  them  work.  "Junior"  employes,  by  which  is  meant 
those  earning  in  the  neighborhood  of  $25  a  month,  are 
charged  25  cents  a  month  dues.  "Senior"  employes,  or  those 
earning  over  $10  a  week,  are  charged  50  cents  a  month.  Bene- 
fits of  membership  are  $1  a  day  while  out  of  work.  Members 
may  consult  their  own  physicians,  though  the  Association 
employs  one  of  its  own.  Consultation  with  the  Association 
physician  is  charged  for  in  spite  of  membership.  For  this 
reason  the  old  employes  are  diffident  about  belonging. 

Lodges  and  Church  Dues. 

The  very  small  amounts  spent  in  these  instances  indicate 
that  where  retrenchment  can  be  made,  it  is  done.  If  a  regu- 
lar churchgoer  contributes  5  cents  per  Sunday  to  the  collection 
box,  surely  the  least  that  she  could  do,  this  would  amount  to 

TABLE  34. 

Average  Sum  Spent  Annually  for  Lodge  and  Church  Dues  by  509  Wage  Earning 
Women  in  Portland,   classified  by  occupation  and  as  to  living  "at  home"  or  "adrift." 

No.  Occupation.     Average   Annual   Expense — At  Home.  Adrift. 

36  Laundry  $  6.25  $  5.25 

100  Factory  9.96  7.40 

116  Department  Stores 12.19  9.72 

88  Office  9.13  9.10 

169  Miscellaneous  12.26  7.90 

$2.60  a  year.  Lodge  membership  demands  from  $3  to  $5  a 
year,  and  others  require  more.'  Yet  one  group  of  women,  laun- 
dry workers  adrift,  spent  $5  a  year  for  church  and  lodge  dues. 
The  department  store  and  miscellaneous  groups  living  at  home 
are  exceptions  in  spending  $12.  The  others  at  home,  as  well 
as  adrift,  do  not  spend  more  than  $9. 

Recreation  and  Vacation. 

Maximum  average  amounts  spent  for  these  items  amount 
to  $36.62;  the  minimum  amount  recorded  is  $12.50.  Of  the 
four  specified  trades,  the  three  groups  of  women  adrift  spend 
more  for  recreation  and  vacation  than  do  the  women  living 
at  home.  This  would  tend  to  show  that  the  girl  at  home  can 
get  decent  amusement  cheaper  or  else  has  friends  to  rely  on 
for  her  good  times.  There  is  not  the  same  temptation  for 
the  girl  at  home  to  seek  fun  outside  as  there  is  for  the  girl 
adrift,  whose  lonesomeness  in  her  one  room  drives  her  inno- 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  67 

cenr.lv  to  seek  diversion  that  eventually  ends  disastrously  for 
her. 

TABLE  35. 

Average   Sum  Spent  Annually  for  Recreation  and  Vacation  by  509  Wage  Earning 

Women  in  Portland,  classified  by  occupation  and  as  to  living  "at  home"  or  "adrift." 

No.                Occupation.     Average   Annual   Expense — At  Home.  Adrift 

36                     Laundry     $   18.25  $   12.50 

100                     Factory      12.91  1660 

116                    Department     Store 21.48  3662 

Office     20.14  3Si78 

Miscellaneous     22.02  20.83 

Education  and  Reading. 

Sums  spent  for  this  purpose  indicate  that  mental  recrea- 
tion or  training  of  any  kind  is  almost  entirely  lacking  among 
the  wage-earning  women.  Several  reasons  may  be  given  for 
this.  One  is  that  the  great  majoritv  of  them  have  to  leave 
school  before  their  education  is  half  completed.  A  second 
reason  is  that  when  they  reach  home  at  night  they  are  too 
tired  to  read  or  study  music.  A  third  is  that  they  haven't 
the  money  to  use  this  way  if  they  wished  to.  Laundry  girls 
spend  the  least  of  any  group ;  $6.30  for  those  at  home,  $4  for 
those  adrift.  Factorv  g-irls  adrift  spend  the  largest  sum,  but 
department  store  girls  living  at  home  average  about  the  same. 
Office  girls  spend  nearly  $8  per'  year ;  less  than  we  might  ex- 
pect from  this  better  trained  class. 

TABLE  36. 

Average  Sum   Spent   Annually  for  Education  and   Reading  by  509  Wage  Earning 
Women   in   Portland,   classified   by  occupation  as  to  living  "at  home"   or   "adrift." 

No.                Occupation.     Average   Annual   Expense — At  Home.  Adrift. 

36                     Laundry      $     6.30  $     4.00 

100                     Factory     6.68  10.30 

116                    Department     Store 10.11  6.69 

88                    Office     7.78  7.98 

169                     Miscellaneous     9.45  8.92 

To  summarize  the  Cost  of  Living : 

Investigation  has  shown  that  $10  a  week  is  the  very  least 
on  which  the  average  self-suporting  woman  can  live  decently 
and  keep  herself  in  health  in  Portland.  This  means  a  steady 
income  of  $520  per  year.  HOW  this  would  have  to  be  spent 
were  women  in  all  cases  living  as  they  should,  is  indicated  by 
the  following  schedule : 

TABLE  37. 

Per    Year. 

Room  and   Board,   $25   per  month $300 

Clothing     130 

Laundry    Bills 25 

Carfare    .' 30 

Doctor's    Bills 15 

Lodge   and    Church   Dues 10 

Recreation,    including  vacation 25 

Education   and   reading 10 

Total    ! $545 

If  we- were  to  omit  the  sum  allowed  for  recreation,  $25  a 
year,  we  would  bring  the  actual  cost  to  $520  a  year,  or  $10 -a 
week,  for  bare  necessities.  That  a  legitimate  amount  of  rec- 
reation is  a  necessity  to  maintain  the  efficiency  of  a  worker  is 
a  theory  that  some  persons  insist  upon,  but  which  others  re- 
fuse to  admit. 


68  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

PERSONAL   STORIES 

Miss  A.,  a  stenographer  19  years  old,  P/2  years'  experi- 
ence, working  in  office  for  $22  a  month.  A  friend  happened 
to  invite  her  to  lunch  on  Saturday.  She  discovered  that  Miss 
A's  money  had  given  out  the  day  before ;  that  she  had  had 
no  dinner  Friday  evening,  nothing  to  eat  on  Saturday,  and  had 
expected  to  have  nothing  to  eat  until  Monday,  when  she 
would  receive  her  next  check. 

Miss  B  works  at  the  5c,  lOc  and  15c  store,  earns  $4.50 
per  week.  Said  that  her  salary  was  so  small  that  she  has  to 
work  for  her  room  and  board.  Gets  up  in  the  morning  and 
gets  breakfast  before  she  goes  to  work  , washes  dishes  when 
she  comes  home  at  night,  does  family's  washing  and  ironing 
on  Sunday.  Her  people  are  unable  to  help  her. 

Miss  C  works  at  candy  factory.  Is  living  with  her  mother 
now.  Was  rooming  with  another  girl  before  mother  came  to 
city.  Said  that  usually  they  both  had  beaus  and  went  out 
for  good  times.  Chum  goes  with  a  m'an  now  who,  Miss  C. 
thinks,  pays  for  her  meals  and  carfare.  Chum  is  earning  only 
$6  per  week,  but  has  more  money  and  clothes  than  she  used 
to.  Thinks  that  she  "lives  with  the  man,"  as  she  has  three 
meals  now  also,  which  she  didn't  have  before.  She  herself 
often  has  offers  from  men  to  be  "charity  girl"  in  exchange  for 
amusement  and  meals,  but  she  refuses.  States  that  if  she  ever 
gets  down  and  out,  she  will  accept.  She  says  that  they  tell 
her  when  she  refuses  that  they  are  glad  she  is  a  good  girl ; 
they  just  wanted  to  find  out.  Chum  can't  live  at  home  on 
account  of  cruelty  of  stepfather.  Both  girls  about  eighteen 
years  old. 

Miss  D.  works  in  candy  factory.     Says  it  is  dirtier  than 

— ,  another  noted  place.  Girls  have  to  go  downstairs 
to  toilet  and  use  the  same  one  that  the  men  use.  "The  dirtiest 
place  I  ever  worked  in." 

Miss  E.,  in  alteration  room  of  large  store,  received  $23.50 
per  week.  Made  all  her  own  clothes,  trimmed  her  own  hats, 
walked  to  and  from  work.  Spent  $320  per  year  for  room  and 
board,  $200  for  clothes,  $35  per  year  for  carfare,  $52  per  year 
for  laundry,  $10  for  church  dues,  $10  for  education,  etc.  Total 
expenses,  $627;  total  income,  $1,175.  Is  a  sensible,  elderly 
girl,  an  example  that  even  with  good  management,  cost  of 
living,  with  decent  standards  can  scarcely  be  brought  under 
$600"per  year. 

Miss  F.,  stenographer  in  law  office  at  $5  per  week  says, 
"I  did  the  stenographic  work  for  two  offices  and  that  is  the 
reason  I  quit,  as  I  thought  it  was  too  much  work  for  only 
$20  a  month." 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  69 

Miss  G.,  working  in  government  office  at  $25  per  week, 
spends  $192  per  year  for  room  rent,  $225  for  food,  $25  for 
laundry,  $25  for  carfare,  $285  for  clothing,  $25  for  dentistry, 
$50  for  recreation  and  vacation,  $15  for  books  and  newspa- 
pers. She  says :  "Expenses  shown  are  actual  and  based  on 
economy  and  self-denial.  Clothing  purchased  is  worn  out  in 
office.  No  social  or  evening  dresses  taken  into  consideration." 

Miss  H.  earns  $5  per  week  in  candy  factory.  Was  living 
with  mother  and  so  didn't  estimate  cost  of  living.  Said  that 
she  had  worked  in  department  store  for  nine  months.  Asked 
for  a  raise  and  was  told  that  after  Christmas  she  would  get 
one.  After  Christmas,  she  was  dismissed. 

Miss  I.,  working  in  candy  factory,  $5  per  week,  states 
that  after  standing  on  her  feet  for  ten  hours  at  her  work, 
she  is  required  to  sweep  the  floor  in  the  evening.  Lives  with 
her  mother ;  says  that  if  she  didn't,  she  could  not  live  on  this 
salary. 

Mrs.  XYZ.  earns  $6  per  week  doing  daywork.  Is  attempt- 
ing to  support  two  children.  Gets  $12  per  month  from  hus- 
band, who  is  out  on  parole. 

Miss  J.  works  in  cannery  and  averages  $7.20  per  week. 
Says  she  was  the  fastest  worker  they  had,  and  that  the  most 
money  she  could  make  per  day  was  $1.20;  sometimes  80c, 
50c  and  40c. 

Miss  K.,  also  in  fruit  cannery,  earns  $5.40  per  week.  She 
lives  15  blocks  from  working  place,  but  walks  back  and  forth 
as  she  can't  afford  to  ride. 

Miss  L.,  in  same  place,  states  it  is  harder  than  any  work 
she  has  done  with  less  pay;  a  filthy  place.  Building  is  unfit 
for  women  to  work  in.  Earns  $2.50  per  week. 

Miss  M.,  stock  girl  in  tailor  shop  in  suit  house,  earns  $6 
per  week ;  lived  at  home,  and  paid  no  room  rent  or  board  ; 
made  all  own  shirtwaists,  dresses,  underwear ;  trimmed  hats ; 
does  all  her  own  laundry  except  collars.  Income,  $312  per 
year ;  expenses,  noon  lunches  downtown,  $62.40  per  year ;  car- 
fare, $36;  laundry,  $6;  clothing,  $135;  recreation,  including 
swimming  lessons,  $30;  church  dues,  $6;  books  and  newspa- 
pers, $3.  Expenditures,  $272.40;  income,  $312.  Note  here 
that  this  girl  does  not  pay  for  dressmaking,  trimming  of  hats, 
laundry,  room  and  board. 

Miss  N.,  working  in  department  store  at  $7.50  per  week, 
gives  a  moderate,  reasonable  list  of  expenditures.  Said  that 
if  she  didn't  have  help,  she  would  starve,  or  what  is  worse, 
get  her  living  some  other  way. 

Mrs.  ABC.  earns  $18  per  week  in  department  store ;  has 
a  little  boy  to  support.  Says  that  this  wouldn't  cover  her  ex- 
penses if  her  landlady  did  not  help  her  take  care  of  her  little 


70  Social  Welfare  Survey. 

boy,  whom  she  has  to  support.  Is  trying  to  pay  for  her  own 
home  on  the  installment  plan  ;  makes  all  the  little  boy's  clothes 
at  night. 

Mrs  O.,  a  girl  of  18,  works  in  a  5c,  lOc  and  15c  store; 
earned  $4  at  the  start,  now  $6.10;  has  baby  to  support;  doesn't 
know  where  her  husband  is.  Mother  takes  care  of  baby,  but 
she  boards  out ;  pays  $3  per  week  for  room  and  board.  They 
have  mush  and  toast  for  breakfast ;  potatoes  and  gravy,  and 
sometimes  meat  for  dinner ;  walks  to  work  every  morning, 
though  she  lives  a  long  distance  from  the  store ;  goes  without 
lunch  unless  she  can  hustle  a  fellow.  Girls  in  store  sometimes 
take  up  a  collection  for  her. 

Miss  P.  works  in  5c,  lOc  and  15c  store,  living  at  home; 
earns  $4  per  week.  Says  that  after  paying  carfare,  she  has 
only  money  enough  to  pay  for  her  clothes. 

Girls  in  same  establishment  stated  that  when  they  went 
to  the  head  of  one  department  and  told  him  they  could  not 
live  on  $4  a  week,  knowing  that  they  could  not  do  much  better 
there,  he  found  'work  for  two  of  them  outside. 

Miss  Q.  earns  $9  a  week  in  laundry.  States  that  often 
she  goes  without  evening  meal  because  she  can't  afford  it. 

Mrs.  R.,  janitress,  earns  $7.50  per  week.  Has  a  little  girl 
to  support,  pays  $20  for  their  room  and  board ;  has  $10  left  for 
their  clothes  and  school  expenses. 

Mrs.  S.,  working  in  department  store  at  $45  per  month, 
says ;  "I  maintain  a  mother  and  daughter.  I  have  a  large 
surgery  'bill  of  over  $200,  and  am  unable  to  pay  a  cent  of  it ; 
had  a  hard  sick  spell  of  14  weeks,  and  a  year  later  fell  on  auto 
oil  on  the  street  and  broke  my  ankle.  I  never  had  a  vacation 
with  pay  in  my  life ;  never  was  granted  a  vacation.  Had  to 
give  up  my  lodge  dues  because  I  could  not  pay  them.  I  sup- 
port the  three  of  us  on  my  salary.  Have  been  maintaining 
a  home  for  seven  years ;  have  spent  all  I  made  and  am  deeply 
in  debt,  and  work  as  I  may,  I  cannot  get  out  of  debt." 

Mrs.  T.,  an  elderly  woman  canvasser,  $1.50  per  day,  says; 
"If  you  do  not  dress  nicely,  the  firm  will  not  keep  you.  I  am 
helping  to  support  mv  deserted  daughter  and  three  grand- 
children. I  receive  a  little  aid  from  my  son." 

Mrs.  U.,  demonstrator,  $9  per  week,  has  an  income  of 
$468  per  year;  expenditures,  $445.10.  She  spends  $100  on 
clothing,  $283  on  room,  board  and  carfare.  She  says;  "You 
can  see  by  the  above  figures  that  one  does  not  have  much 
money  left  for  any  vacation.  The  employers  are  now  expect- 
ing us  to  dress  better,  and  are  hiring  only  help  which  can  dress 
well,  and  letting  the  older  help  out." 

Miss  V.,  general  work  in  hairdressing  parlors,  says :  "I 
must  pay  $25  to  learn  the  trade.  I  have  to  borrow  all  this 


Social  Welfare  Survey.  71 

money  and  pay  it  back  when  I  am  earning.    After  I  finish  my 
trade,  I  get  $7  per  week." 

Miss  W.,  manicure  in  hairdressing  parlors,  $10  per  week, 
says :  "It  takes  six  months  of  hard  work  to  learn  this  trade, 
and  then  the  first  wage  you  earn  is  $6  per  week.  I  have  worked 
two  years,  and  get  $10.  If  I  didn't  live  at  home,  I  couldn't 
live  on  this  wage.'' 

Miss  X.,  millinery  shop,  $12  per  week,  says :  "There  are 
many  things  I  would  like  to  do  to  improve  myself,  but  my 
salary  only  allows  me  the  bare  necessities  of  life." 

Miss  Z.  works  in  a  laundry  at  a  wage  of  $9  per  week.  She 
states  that  frequently  at  the  end  of  the  day  she  is  so  exhausted 
that  she  cannot  eat;  in  one  way  she  is  grateful  for  this  weari- 
ness because  she  cannot  afford  three  meals  a  day,  and  if  she 
were  not  tired  and  felt  the  need  of  them  she  would  miss  them. 


Welfare  Legislation 

for  Women  and  Minors 


REV.  EDWIN  V.  O'HARA 

Chairman 

Social  Survey  Committee  of  the 
Consumers'  League  of  Oregon 


An  Address  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Consumers'  League  of 

Oregon,  held  at  the  Portland  Hotel,  Portland,  Ore. 

Tuesday,  November  19,  1912 


PROVISIONS  OF  THE  PROPOSED  BILL  FOR  AN  INDUS- 
TRIAL WELFARE  COMMISSION  FOR  WOMEN  AND 
MINORS  IN  THE  STATE  OF  OREGON. 

The  Governor  shall  appoint  a  non-paid  Commission  of  five 
members,  to  be  known  as  the  Industrial  Welfare  Commission. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  Commission  to  ascertain  the  wages, 
and  hours  of  labor,  and  conditions  of  labor,  of  women  and  minors 
in  the  various  occupations  in  which  they  are  employed. 

To  this  end  the  Commission  shall  have  power  to  examine  a1! 
pay  rolls  and  records  showing  wages  and  hours  of  labor  of  women 
and  minors. 

If,  after  investigation,  the  Commission  considers  that  in  any 
occupation  the  wages  paid  to  female  employes  are  less  than  enough 
to  maintain  the  worker  in  health,  or  that  the  hours  or  conditions  of 
labor  are  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  the  workers,  the  Commission 
is  empowered  to  call  a  Conference  of  employers  and  employes  in 
said  occupation. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  Conference  to  report  to  the  Com- 
mission a  statement  of  the  minimum  cost  of  decent  living  for  the 
women  employes,  and  the  number  of  hours  and  conditions  con- 
sistent with  the  health  of  the  worker. 

The  Commission  shall  review  these  recommendations  and  ,.iay 
appiove  or  disapprove  any  or  all  of  them.  If  it  approves  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Conference,  it  shall  give  notice  of  a  public  hear- 
ing on  same,  and  after  such  public  hearing  may  issue  an  obligatory 
order,  fixing  wages  and  hours,  and  conditions  of  labor. 

If  the  Commission  disapproves  the  recommendations  of  the 
Conference,  it  may  re-submit  the  question  to  the  same  or  another 
Conference. 

The  wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  labor  of  minors  may  be 
determined  in  a  similar  manner. 

There  shall  be  right  of  appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court  should  the 
determinations  of  the  Commission  be  considered  unjust. 


1.  The  responsibility  of  the  State: 

The  welfare  of  society  imperatively  demands  the  protection 
of  women  and  minors  from  all  grave  and  wide-spread  influences 
which  would  undermine  the  health  or  morals  of  the  former  or  retard 
or  stunt  the  natural  development  of  the  latter.  The  physical  health 
and  moral  character  of  womanhood  are  the  sine  qua  non  of  social 
progress.  The  health  and  morals  of  the  race  will  not  rise  above 
the  standards  maintained  by  the  mothers  of  the  race.  We  live  in 
an  age  which  is  demanding  better  conditions  for  the  rearing  of 
children,  —  an  age  which  is  seriously  discussing  radical  and  revolu- 
tionary methods  to  provide  that  children  shall  be  "well-born."  The 
primary  condition  of  healthy  offspring  is  a  healthy  motherhood. 
Likewise  the  well-being  of  society  involves  the  protection  of  grow- 
ing boys  and  girls  from  conditions  of  life  and  labor  which  are 
prejudicial  to  their  physical,  mental  and  moral  development.  The 
men  and  women  of  the  future  who  will  have  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  world's  progress  are  the  boys  and  girls  of 
today.  Their  health,  the  training  of  their  minds  and  the  formation 
of  their  characters  is  a  matter  of  such  consequence  to  society  that 
it  must  take  precedence  over  every  commercial  consideration.  No 
commonwealth  can  hope  to  be  perpetuated,  not  to  say  make  prog- 
ress, which  fails  to  ward  off  from  its  women  and  children  pernicious 
conditions  of  living  and  labor.  Hence  it  is  that  the  state  must  be 
held  responsible  for  the  enforcement  of  living  wages  and  reasonable 
hours  and  decent  conditions  for  its  laboring  women  and  minors. 

2.  Insufficient  wages  a  cause  of  wholesale  destitution. 

It  has  been  a  popular  theory  that  poverty  and  its  attendant 
evils  were  inflicted  upon  people  because  of  their  own  faults.  There 
is  an  element  of  truth  in  this  view,  but  social  investigators  will 
agree  that  it  explains  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  industrial  defi- 
ciency of  today.  It  is  acknowledged,  too,  that  there  are  many  per- 
sons afflicted  with  some  mental  defect  which  renders  them  industri- 
ally unfit,  but  the  explanation  of  the  overwhelming  problem  of  de- 
pendency and  delinquency  which  confronts  private  and  public  char- 
ity, must  be  wider  and  deeper.  "There  is  forced  upon  us,"  said  a  well- 
known  speaker  at  the  last  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rections. "There  is  forced  upon  us  the  slow,  reluctant  recognition 
that  there  is  no  more  efficient  cause  of  wholesale  destitution  in  the 
United  States  than  industry....  Insufficient  wages  underlie  a  vast 
proportion  of  the  need  for  correctional  and  reformatory  work.  They 
entail  upon  the  community  child  labor,  tuberculosis,  underfeeding, 


lack  of  refreshing  sleep  and  the  consequent  nervous  breakdown. 
They  underlie  industrial  employment  of  mothers  whose  neglected 
children  consequently  fail  in  health  and  morals.  The  children  in 
turn  crowd  the  hospitals,  dispensaries,  juvenile  courts  and  cus- 
todial institutions....  Insufficient  wages  are  proof  of  incompetent 
management  and  of  the  greed  of  employers.  They  presuppose  the 
existence  in  the  community  of  dishonorable  earnings  by  women 
employes  or  charitable  supplements  to  honest  girls  and  their  fami- 
lies. Such  outside  aid  must  must  be  permanent  and  continued." 
(Mrs.  Florence  Kelly,  General  Secretary  National  Consumers' 
League). 

3.  Parasitic  industries  subsidized  by  the  poor. 

We  often  point  with  pride  to  the  vast  amount  of  charity  and 
philanthropic  effort  that  is  lavished  on  the  unfortunate.  It  would 
be  immensely  more  to  the  point  to  provide  a  modicum  of  social 
justice  for  the  workers,  and  thus  prevent  them  from  becoming  ob- 
jects of  charity.  In  any  justly  and  reasonably  organized  society,  each 
industry  should  support  the  people  employed  in  it.  An  industry 
which  fails  to  do  so  is  a  parasite  upon  its  employes  and  their  homes. 
A  department  store,  candy  factory,  or  laundry  which  pays  its  young 
women  employes  less  than  they  can  decently  live  upon  and  main- 
tain themselves  in  health,  is  in  the  class  of  the  parasitic  male 
cirnpeds,  which  depend  for  their  existence  and  nourishment  upon 
the  females  of  the  same  species.  Such  an  industry  is  subsidized 
by  its  employes.  A  girl  who  works  steadily  for  ten  hours  a  day 
for  a  wage  of  five  dollars  a  week,  and  who  has  to  pay  nine  dollars 
a  week  for  room,  board,  carfare,  clothing  and  laundry,  is  really 
contributing  not  less  than  four  dollars  a  week  subsidy  to  the 
profits  of  the  business.  The  problem  is,  -  -  where  does  she  get 
the  four  dollars?  Either  her  home,  her  father,  mother  or  brother 
pays  it,  or  the  home  gets  it  from  the  public  or  private  charity,  or 
it  is  taken  from  the  earnings  of  shame.  It  would  seem  that  if  any 
unprofitable  industry  is  so  necessary  to  society  that  it  must  be 
subsidized,  the  subsidy  should  come  from  other  source  than  the 
homes  of  the  poor,  or  the  'earnings  of  a  life  of  shame.  In  parasitic 
industries,  the  burden  is  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  very 
portion  of  society  least  capable  of  bearing  it. 

4.  The  case  of  the  girl  at  home. 

There  is  a  widespread  opinion  that  a  young  woman  living  at 
home  may  reasonably  be  employed  at  a  less  wage  than  her  sister, 


who  is  "adrift,"  that  is,  one  who  has  only  herself  to  support.  This 
view  involves  a  double  fallacy.  Even  if  a  girl  lives  at  home,  her 
food  has  to  'be  paid  for,  and  she  occupies  a  room  which  could 
otherwise  be  rented  to  some  girl  adrift,  and  bring  into  the  family 
exactly  the  sum  paid  for  a  room  by  the  girl  adrift.  Hence  the  ex- 
pense of  a  girl  living  at  home  is  not  substantially  less  than  that  of 
a  girl  adrift.  And -all  reason  demands  that  the  industry  should  bear 
that  expense.  Again,  the  girl  adrift  has  no  one  but  herself  to 
provide  for.  The  girl  living  at  home,  on  the  contrary,  seldom  goes 
into  industry  unless  she  is  forced  to  support  herself,  and  often 
contribute  to  the  support  of  aged  parents  or  other  dependent  rela,- 
tives.  Yet  there  are  stores  which  justify  the  miserable  pittance 
they  give  their  employes  on  the  specious  pretext  that  they 
only  employ  girls  who  live  at  home,  and  consequently  that  no 
wrong  is  done.  Such  stores  foster  the  opinion  that  a  large  percent- 
age of  the  girls  they  employ  are  working  only  for  "pin  money," — 
just  to  keep  busy  and  supply  themselves  with  little  luxuries.  Every 
investigation  which  has  been  held  completely  negatives  this  view. 
The  investigators  in  Portland  have  found  that  only  an  insignificant 
fraction  of  the  women  workers  could  afford  to  live  at  home  without 
work.  And  in  Milwaukee — to  instance  another  typical  investiga- 
tion— of  1189  wage-earning  girls  interviwed,  only  six  were  working 
from  choice. 


5.     The  basis  of  present  wage  rates  for  women. 

"Existing  wage  rates  are  unbearable,"  says  the  authority  al- 
ready quoted,  "because  they  rest  on  the  economic  error  that  all 
women  wage-earners  are  supported,  —  at  least  in  part  —  by  men ; 
that  every  woman  has  a  father,  brother,  husband,  son,  or  some 
male  relative  earning  enough  money  to  furnish  the  bulk  of  her 
maintenance,  so  that  she  need  make  merely  a  contribution.  One 
need  not  speak  in  detail  of  the  thousands  of  widowed  mothers  with 
children,  of  the  faithful  wives  whose  husbands  are  tubercular  or 
are  in  lunatic  asylums  or  penitentiaries,  or  disabled  by  poisons  or 
other  industrial  injuries....  Women's  wages  rest  on  the  hypothesis 
that  some  contribution  comes  from  elsewhere  than  themselves.  An 
ugly  item  in  recent  finance  is  the  circular  issued  by  the  Wool- 
worth  Company  (United  5c  and  lOc  Stores),  notifying  subscribers 
that  the  investment  would  be  profitable  because  of  the  small  wages 
paid  to  clerks  by  reason  of  their  youth  and  consequent  cheapness.... 
I  do  not  believe  that  wages  are  adjusted  in  innocent  ignorance.  I 
believe  that  it  can  be  said  justly  that  wages  in  the  vast  field  of 


retail  trade  rest  upon  knowledge  that  the  payroll  is  eked  out  by 
the  social  evil."  These  convictions  of  the  General  Secretary  of  the 
National  Consumers'  League  are  shared  by  social  workers  in  every 
large  city  of  the  country. 

6.  A  sin  crying  to  Heaven  for  vengeance. 

The  case  of  the  girl  "adrift"  merits  special  consideration.  She  is 
a  large  factor  even  among  the  native  American  population  of  west- 
ern cities  There  are  hundreds  of  girls  in  Portland  who  have  cut 
loose  from  family  ties'  in  the  east,  hoping  to  better  their  economic 
condition  by  coming  west.  Other  hundreds  are  set  adrift  here  by  the 
shipwreck  of  homes  due  to  intemperance,  divorce  or  destitution 
of  the  parents.  Scores  of  these  girls  are  getting  five  dollars,  six  dol- 
lars and  seven  dollars  a  week  in  our  retail  stores,  laundries,  offices, 
and  factories.  It  is  unnecessary  to  argue  that  no  young  woman  can 
live  decently  and  maintain  herself  in  health  upon  so  meagre  an 
income. 

It  does  not  follow  that  all  girls  adrift  who  work  for  these 
wages  are  supplementing  them  by  lives  of  shame.  There  are  scores 
of  girls  here  who  are  living  in  miserable  rooms  without  heat  in 
winter,  who  do  not  get  a  new  dress  once  a  year,  but  make  over 
their  old  one  until  it  becomes  threadbare,  and  who  can  afford  but 
two  meals  a  day.  These  girls  are  leading  virtuous  lives,  but  they 
are  living  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  How  long  will  their  health 
stand  the  strain?  How  long  will  their  resolutions  of  clean  living 
hold  out  under  the  temptation?  We  are  horrified  at  the  recital 
of  atrocities  in  Africa,  where  natives  are  forced  to  work  for  their 
masters  under  the  lash.  What  shall  we  say  of  leading  citizens  of 
every  large  American  city  who  gather  in  dividends  from  industries 
that  grind  down  American  girls  to  indecent  and  starvation  wages, 
and  deliberately  pile  up  profits  from  the  earnings  of  their  shame? 
Is  it  not  written  "He  that  shedeth  blood  and  he  that  defraudeth 
the  laborer  of  his  hire  are  brothers.  The  bread  of  the  needy  is  the 
life  of  the  poor;  he  that  defraudeth  them  thereof  is  a  man  of  blood." 

7.  Every  section  of  the  state  is  vitally  concerned. 

Nor  should  it,  be  supposed  that  only  the  larger  cities  have  an 
interest  in  this  matter.  Even  supposing  it  were  true  that  sufficient 
wages  are  being  paid  in  the  smaller  towns,  the  question  is  still  of 
vital  concern  to  them.  Girls  from  every  village  and  hamlet  are 
gravitating  to  the  larger  centers.  No  day  passes  that  does  not  bring 


to  Portland  its  quota  of  girls  from  the  towns  and  country  dis- 
tricts of  Oregon  in  search  of  employment.  They  arrive  here  without 
friends  or  influence,  without  the  'home  circle  on  which  to  fall  back, 
perhaps  away  from  home  for  the  first  time.  Here  they  come,  bright, 
eager-faced,  light-hearted  girls;  but  unskilled,  and  totally  inexpe- 
rienced. They  find  a  cheap  lodging  place  and  'begin  looking  for 
work. 

The  big  retail  stores,  naturally,  are  the  Mecca  of  their  first 
pilgrimage.  They  make  their  way  to  the  superintendent's  desk, 
and  are  accorded  an  interview  with  the  wonderful  man  who  has 
so  many  positions  within  his  gift.  They  want  work?  Yes.  They 
are  inexperienced?  Yes.  Well,  there  are  many  applicants  and  few 
positions,  but  he  will  try  them  out  as  inspectors.  There  are  ten 
hours  a  day  to  work,  of  course,  and  inspectors  must  be  bright  and 
active  and  careful  not  to  miss  an  hour  through  illness  or  other 
cause,  or  they  will  be  docked,  because,  you  know,  the  store  is  under 
heavy  expense  and  must  have  strictly  business  methods.  And  the 
wages?  Why,  twenty  dollars  a  month  with  the  prospect  of  being 
raised  to  twenty-five  and  even  thirty  dollars  a  month  in  the  course 
of  a  year  or  two.  This  is  no  imaginary  situation.  There  are  in 
Portland  individual  establishments  which  employ  from  sixty  to  nine- 
ty young  women  inspectors  "(wrappers)  for  these  wages.  I  recall  the 
case  of  one  of  these  girls,  who,  after  some  months  at  the  beginner's 
wage  ($20  per  month),  asked  for  a  raise  in  wages,  and  was  given 
the  munificent  increase  of  50  cents  per  month !  What  a  roseate 
prospect  opens  out  before  our  new  arrival  in  the  world  of  industry ! 
Twenty  dollars  a  month  to  pay  for  her  room,  board,  clothing,  laun- 
dry and  carfare,  not  to  speak  of  stamps  with  which  to  send  news 
of  her  industrial  independence  to  her  home  to  assure  her  parents 
that  their  misgivings  about  her  success  in  the  metropolis  were  un- 
founded. 

buppose  our  friend  goes  to  a  paper  box  factory  and  is  engaged 
on  piece  work.  She  will  stand  for  ten  hours  a  day  over  a  nause- 
ating pot  of  glue  and  as  she  goes  to  her  humble  lodging  at  night, 
trying  to  get  some  fresh  air  into  her  lungs  on  the  way,  she  will 
figure  up  her  profits  at  from  65  cents  to  80  cents.  If  she  applies  at 
a  candy  factory  or  a  5c  &  lOc  store,  her  experience  will  not  be 
materially  different.  These  are  the  actual  conditions  which  will 
confront  an  inexperienced  girl  who  comes  from  any  part  of  the 
state  to  seek  work  in  Portland.  These  are  actual,  not  imaginary 
conditions,  for  our  investigators  have  not  been  satisfied  with  hear- 
say, but  have  themselves  gone  to  work  in  these  various  industries 


under  these  conditions.  It  can  readily  be  seen,  therefore,  that  every 
section  of  the  state  is  vitally  concerned  in  the  wage  conditions  of 
the  larger  centers. 

8.  Make  freedom  of  contract  an  actuality. 

It  is  urged  that  any  legislation  dealing  with  wages  is  an  in- 
vasion of  the  right  of  free  contract.  The  answer  is  obvious.  Who 
will  talk  of  a  "free  contract"  when  a  young  woman  with  no  influ- 
ence and  but  a  few  pennies  between  her  and  starvation  applies  for 
work  in  one  of  our  large  industries?  Freedom  is  the  merest  fiction 
in  such  a  case.  "The  need  of  the  work  is  so  great  and  the  workers 
are  so  numerous  that  employers  may  dictate  their  own  terms,  lim- 
ited only  by  their  sense  of  social  responsibility  and  by  the  restricted 
competition  of  other  employment  opportunities."  What  the  Con- 
sumers' League  is  urging  is  not  legislation  which  will  destroy  free- 
dom of  contract,  but  legislation  Which  will  make  freedom  of  con- 
tract an  actuality  and  not  a  ghastly  mockery,  as  it  is  at  present. 
We  want  wage  bargains  to  be  real  bargains,  based  on  mutual 
knowledge  of  the  facts,  and  not  on  the  necessities  and  ignorance 
of  the  weaker  party. 

9.  Secrecy  about  wage  schedules;  what  it  evidences. 

One  of  the  striking  facts  about  women's  wage  schedules  is  the 
secrecy  which  surrounds  them.  In  some  cases,  the  employers  im- 
pose a  promise  of  secrecy.  In  many  cases,  he  terrorizes  the  em- 
ployes by  the  fear  of  dismissal  should  they  let  their  wages  become 
known.  To  such  an  extent  is  this  terrorism  carried  that  in  certain 
large  retail  establishments  in  this  city,  girls  working  in  the  same 
department  are  afraid  to  tell  each  other  their  wages.  Such  secrecy 
is  an  evidence  of  the  conviction  on  the  part  of  those  employers  that 
the  public  has  no  business  to  know  anything  a'bout  their  wage 
scale.  It  is  a  further  evidence  that  their  wage  scales  will  not  bear 
inspection,  and  that  these  firms  are  perfectly  conscious  that  they 
would  be  held  up  to  execration  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion  if  it 
were  known  that  they  were  grinding  down  their  employes  to  such 
indecent  wages.  The  time  has  come  when  no  industry  may  be  per- 
mitted to  lock  up  its  payrolls  and  imperiously  tell  the  public  to 
mind  its  own  business.  The  payrolls  of  industries  employing 
women  and  minors  are  emphatically  records  of  public  concern,  and 
should  be  open  for  inspection  just  as  railroad  tariffs  are  open  for 
inspection. 


10.  No  standards  of  wages  among  unorganized  workers. 

As  a  result  of  this  secrecy  concerning  wage  schedules  for 
women  employes,  it  has  come  to  pass  that  there  are  absolutely  no 
standards  of  wages  among  unorganized  women  workers.  In  the 
words  of  the  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum 
Wage  Boards,  "There  is  a  common  and  widespread,  but  erroneous 
view  that  an  economic  law  by  some  mysterious  process  correlates 
earnings  and  wages.  There  is  no  such  law;  in  fact,  in  many  in- 
dustries, the  wages  bear  little  or  no  relation  to  the  value  or  even 
to  the  selling  price  of  the  workers'  output.  Wages  among  the  un- 
organized and  lower  grades  of  labor  are  mainly  the  result  of  tradi- 
tion and  of  slight  competition."  The  Secretary  of  that  Commis- 
sion observes,  "The  books  of  fifty-seven  candy  factories,  laundries 
and  retail  stores  were  studied  by  the  investigators  of.  the  Commis- 
sion, and  the  result  showed  that  no  principle  nor  tendency,  either 
according  to  the  size  of  the  establishments,  their  location  or  the 
class  of  trade  to  which  they  cater,  underlay  the  variation  in  wage 
scales.  Every  employer  seemed  to  pay  for  his  labor  what  he 
thought  'it  was  worth,'  a  mysterious  term  that  no  employer  was 
able  to  elucidate."  (Survey,  November  9,  1912).  The  same  is  true 
in  Portland.  There  is  the  most  astonishing  variation  in  wages  for 
the  same  grade  of  work.  And  this,  as  Miss  Dewson,  Secretary  of 
the  Massachusetts  Commission,  point  out,  is  the  irrefutable  reply 
to  the  objection  that  interstate  competition  makes  any  local  at- 
tempt to  regulate  wages  impracticable  on  the  ground  that  it  puts 
an  unfair  handicap  on  the  local  manufacturers.  Within  the  limits 
of  this  city  may  be  found  numerous  cases  where  two  competing 
concerns  pay  radically  different  wages  to  women  employes  who 
produce  the  same  grade  of  product,  and  often  times  the  concern 
paying  the  higher  wage  is  more  prosperous  than  its  competitor. 

11.  The  Wage  Fund  fallacy. 

There  are  those  who  would  discredit  any  attempt  to  raise  the 
standard  of  wages  among  the  poorest  paid  workers,  by  the  state- 
ment that  any  addition  to  their  wages  would  mean  just  so  much 
subtracted  from  the  wages  of  those  who  are  now  better  paid.  This 
is  an  attempt  to  rehabilitate  the  discredited  wage  fund  theory  of 
the  economists  of  a  century  ago.  According  to  that  theory,  the 
entire  sum  available  for  wages,  was  determinate,  and  consequently, 
the  increase  of  the  wages  of  any  group  of  laborers  meant  the  de- 
crease of  wages  of  some  other  group.  There  is  no  reputable  econo- 


mist  today  who  holds  this  theory.  It  is  universally  recognized  that 
efficiency  in  production  will  in  free  competition  determine  the  in- 
crease in  the  wage  scale  above  the  standard  of  the  poorest  paid 
group.  Still,  those  who  are  opposed  to  remedial  legislation  are 
assiduous  in  spreading  the  opinion  among  the  well-paid  employes 
that  for  reasons  of  self-interest  they  should  oppose  such  welfare 
legislation.  Supposing  the  wage  fund  theory  were  sound,  —  which 
it  is  not,  --it  might  reasonably  be  asked  whether  the  dictates  of 
self-interest  or  those  of  elemental  humanity  should  be  listened  to. 

12.  The  policy  of  the  Consumers'  League. 

Regulation  of  the  wages  of  women  in  the  lowest  paid  occu- 
pations would  benefit  the  employes,  the  employers  and  the  general 
public.  It  is  demanded  as  an  emergency  act  to  protect  the  health 
and  morals  of  women  workers ;  it  will  raise  the  general  standard 
of  efficiency  in  industry.  In  Victoria,  Australia,  more  than  half  of 
the  ninety-one  wage  boards  now  in  existence  have  been  asked  for 
by  the  employers,  who  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  incompetent  and  cut- 
throat competitors.  Finally,  the  health  and  morals  of  society  at 
large  demand  that  poverty  shall  no  longer  be  a  by-product  of  in- 
dustry. For  this  reason,  the  International  Conference  of  Con- 
sumers' Leagues,  at  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  1908,  in  which  the 
representatives  of  twenty  nations  participated,  laid  down  the  policy 
for  the  various  national  organizations,  the  policy  which  the  Con- 
sumers' League  of  Oregon  is  now  engaged  in  promoting,  and  which 
may  be  summed  up  in  the  principle  that  a  living  wage  shall  be  re- 
garded as  a  first  charge  upon  industry;  that  it  shall  rank  with  rent 
and  interest  and  take  precedence  over  profits  and  dividends. 

13.  An  Industrial  Welfare  Commission. 

Your  Committee  has  prepared  a  preliminary  draft  of  a  bill  for 
an  Industrial  Welfare  Commission  for  women  and  minors.  In  the 
preparation  of  this  bill,  your  Committee  has  had  the  advantage  of 
the  experience  of  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Boards  Com- 
mission, of  the  Legislative  Committee  of  the  National  Consumers' 
League,  of  the  officers  of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legis- 
lation, and  of  scores  of  the  ablest  economists,  legislators  and  busi- 
ness men  throughout  the  country.  There  was  practical  unanimity 
among  all  these  authorities  as  to  the  general  features  of  the  bill,  and 
these  have  been  incorporated  in  the  present  draft. 


14.     Nothing  radical  or  arbitrary  in  the  bill. 

There  is  nothing  radical  or  arbitrary  about  the  provisions  of 
the  proposed  bill.  It  provides  that  each  industry  or  occupation 
shall  be  considered  according  to  its  own  needs.  The  determination 
of  the  wages  and  conditions  of  labor  in  each  industry  is  to  be  made 
by  a  conference  of  employers  and  employes  and  representatives  of 
the  public.  Before  such  a  determination  can  be  made  obligatory, 
a  public  hearing  must  be  held,  at  which  all  difficulties  may  be  pre- 
sented. Finally,  recourse  to  the  courts  is  provided  in  case  the  de- 
terminations of  the  Commission  are  judged  to  be  unjust.  The 
whole  procedure  is  eminently  fair,  above  board  and  democratic. 
The  reasonableness  and  justice  of  the  measure  are  apparent  to  all. 
Its  constitutionality  has  been  looked  into  by  capable  lawyers  here 
and  in  the  eas't  who  entertain  no  doubt  that  the  Legislature  has 
full  constitutional  authority  to  enact  such  legislation. 

15.     Advantage  of  the  proposed  legislation. 

The  proposed  legislation  is  therefore  recommended  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons.  (Outlined  by  the  Massachusetts  Commission)  : 

1.  "It  would  promote  the  general  welfare  of  the  State  because 
it  would  tend  to  protect  the  women  workers,  and  particularly  the 
younger   women   workers,   from    the   economic   distress   that   leads 
to  impaired  health  and  inefficiency. 

2.  It  would  bring  employers  to  a  realization  of  their  public 
responsibilities,   and   would   result  in   the   best   adjustment   of   the 
interests  of  the  employment  and  of  the  women  employes. 

3.  It  would  furnish  to  the  women  employes  a  means  of  ob- 
taining the  best  minimum  wages  that  are  consistent  with  the  on- 
o-oing  of  the  industry  without  recourse  to  strikes  or  industrial  dis- 
turbances.    It  would  be  the  best  means  of  insuring  industrial  peace 
so  far  as  this  class  of  employes  is  concerned. 

4.  It  would  tend  to  prevent  exploitation  of  helpless  women, 
and  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  to  do  away  with  "sweating"  in  our 
industries. 

5.  It  would  diminish  the  parasitic  character  of  some  indus- 
tries and  lessen  the  burden  now  resting  on  other  employments. 

6.  It  would  enable  the  employers  in  any  occupation  to  prevent 
the  undercutting  of  wages  by  less  humane  and  considerate  com- 
petitors. 


7.  It  would  stimulate  employers  to  develop  the  capacity  and 
efficiency  of  the  less  competent  workers  in  order  that  the  wages 
might  not  be  incommensurate  with  the  services  rendered. 

8.  It  would  accordingly  tend  to  induce  employers  to  keep  to- 
gether their  trained  workers  and  to  avoid  so  far  as  possible  seasonal 
fluctuations. 

9.  It  would  tend  to  heal  the  sense  of  grievance  in  employes, 
who  would  become  in  this  manner  better  informed  as  to  the  exigi- 
ences  of  their  trade,  and  it  would  enable  them  to  interpret  more 
intelligently  the  meaning  of  the  payroll. 

10.  It  would  give  the  public  assurance  that  these  industrial 
abuses  have  an  effective  and  available  remedy." 


OFFICERS    AND    DIRECTORS    OF    THE    CONSUMERS'    LEAGUE 

OF   OREGON. 


President: 

Mrs.  Henry   Russell  Talbot. 
Vice-Presidents: 

First       Vice-President Mrs.  Millie  R.  Trumbull 

Second  Vice-President Mrs.  Elmer   Colwell 

Third     Vice-President Mrs.  B.  M.  Lombard 

Honorary  Vice-Presidents: 

Mr.  D.  Solis  Cohen  Mrs.  James  Laidlaw 

Mrs.  H.  W.  Corbett  Mrs.  Helen  Ladd  Corbett 

Mrs.  T.  L.  Eliot  Dr.  A.  A.  Morrison 

Dr.  C.  H.  Chapman  Mrs.  R.  B.  Wilson 

Prof.  Wm.  Foster  Rev.  H.  J.  McDevitt 

Corresponding  Secretary Miss  K.  L.  Trevett 

Treasurer    Miss   Cora   Pattee 

Recording    Secretary Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Gannett 

Directors: 

Mrs.  W.  B.  Ayer  Mrs.  Thos.  Scott  Brooke 

Mrs.  Chas.  Basey  Miss  Caroline  J.  Gleason 

Mrs!  Frank  J.  Durham  Mrs.  William  Warrens 


Copies  of  this  pamphlet,  as  well  as  other 

literature  and  information  concerning  the  proposed  bill  for  an  Industrial  Welfare  Commission 
can  be  had  by  addressing 

MISS  CAROLINE  GLEASON,  Director  Minimum  Wage  Survey 
206  Central  Building,  Portland,  Ore. 

Keystone    Press  100J    Front   Street 


